Nothing Is Impossible
by Seshta Heka Anna
Summary: Ant Bully. After losing her family a young woman ends up staying with the Nickles and makes some unusual friends.
1. Chapter 1

This is my first fic so please leave a review and let me know what you think.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except Ann

Ann got home from the funeral to find a note that said:

"Ann I'm sorry to have do this, but the new tenant needs to be able to move in by the first of next month, so I need you out before the end of the month. If there was any way I could let you stay, I would, but the lady who's moving in has three kids and already gave notice that she was moving and will have nowhere else to go. I'm Sorry about your family.

Mr. Jackson,"

Ann collapsed into a chair; she wondered how she would get through this. A week earlier her parents, brother and sister had been going to sign the final papers for the house they where going to buy. But, they where hit by a drunk driver while on an overpass. She was told that the car went over the edge and came down on top of a road sign. One of the signposts had punctured the gas tank and it exploded. The only comfort she had was knowing that her family would have died instantly, and not suffered.

They had asked her to come with them but she had said she would rather spend the day at the museum, than standing around waiting for papers to be signed. Now, she wished she had gone with them, maybe if she had, the timing would have been different, and they wouldn't have been hit, or at least, she would have died with them.

She had no idea how she was going to survive without them, she was only twenty-three and the closest things she had to real jobs were: babysitting, volunteering at the museum and some of the nearby archaeological digs. Her parents had said that as long as she was getting good grades she should concentrate on her education, in result, she would be allowed to stay with them.

Now she had to figure out what to do. The landlord had found someone to rent the house within a few days of her parents telling him they where moving out. The money that would have gone for the house they were going to buy had to be used for the funeral. What was left wasn't going to last long. And she hadn't heard back from any of the few places that she had, had time to turn applications into, while trying to plan the funeral.

She stood up and walked over to one of the piles of boxes and picked up one of the pictures of her family. Most of the stuff in the house had been packed right after they had found out they where going to be buying the new house. They had just ended up having to wait to sign the paper work because, the old man who had owned it, had ended up sick and went to stay with his daughter until he was feeling better. So they had to wait to sign the paperwork until he was able to come back. But they had gotten everything packed except what they would have to use before they moved, her mother had refused to pack up any of the family pictures until the day they moved. When they had taken down the shelves that the pictures had been on, she had set them up across the tops of the boxes.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, making Ann jump. She still hadn't gotten used to the house being so quiet, and any sudden noises seemed to startle her.

When she opened the door there stood Doreen Nickle. She had been a friend of the family's as long as Ann could remember and, since the accident, she had been checking on Ann every day and bring her dinner.

Ann said, "Doreen you really don't need to bring me dinner everyday."

"Well someone has to make sure you're eating. I saw the kitchen when I was here the other day, you don't have enough food out there for a mouse, let alone a young women who's already too skinny. Now, is there anything else you need?" Doreen asked.

"Not unless you know of anyone who would give me a job or has a cheap apartment to rent."

"You still haven't found a job?"

"No. The museum doesn't have any job openings, and I can't do anything but volunteer work at the local dig sites until I graduate. All the other places I have applications in at said they don't really need any one else at the moment, but they would call me first if anything opens up. And it took all of the money that we had saved up to pay for the funeral. What I have left might pay for food and stuff for a few weeks, but there's not enough to eat and get an apartment. I just don't know what to do," Ann finished fighting back tears.

"Well that settles it, you are going to come stay with us."

"I couldn't, you have already done so much for me. I'd feel like I was taking advantage of you. I just have to find a job and I'll be fine."

"Well until you find a job and a nice place to stay, I don't want you ending up in some dangerous neighborhood, because you can't afford something nicer. Anyways, if you are staying with us, I won't have to worry about you all the time, or use the gas to come check on you. Fred and I already agreed that if you hadn't found anything by today, we would have you come stay with us. We have that huge basement that we set up for Fred's mother before she moved in with us, and then she ended up taking the spare bedroom instead. So we have all that space that's just being wasted. If it makes you feel better, I'll put you to work, helping with the chores, to earn your keep until you get a job." Doreen said. Giving Ann a look that said she wasn't going to back down.

Ann finally said. "Alright, alright, I'll stay with you but just until I get a job and find an apartment."

"Good we'll be here in the morning to help you get your stuff moved."

Ann looked shocked. "Tomorrow? I don't have to be out of here for almost two weeks. Don't you think we should wait a few days? I might be able to find a job by then."

"And this way if you do find a job you won't have to worry about moving until you have time to find a nice place, and you won't have to finish packing while adjusting to having a job. Anyway, we are leaving on vacation this weekend for two weeks and I want you to know where everything is that you might need while we're gone."

"I forgot about that. I'll finish packing the last few things tonight."

Doreen smiled and told her, "I'll see you in the morning. Get a good nights sleep, you'll need the energy tomorrow."

"I will. Thank you for everything; I don't know what I would have done. I don't think I can ever thank you enough."

"Don't worry about it. Your mom and I promised each other a long time ago that if anything ever happened to one of us that we would look after the others family and help them through it. I'm just keeping that promise. Now go, eat dinner and get to bed."

"Ok, I'll see you tomorrow. Good night."

The next morning Doreen, Fred and their thirteen-year-old son, Lucas, showed up to help move Ann's things.

After getting everything moved Fred took them all out for ice cream.

After deciding what they wanted, Doreen sent Ann and Lucas to find a place to sit. While she and Fred waited in line. It was a hot day and everyone seemed to have thought ice cream sounded good; considering the long line.

When they had found a seat, Ann said, "Thank you for helping today Lucas. It made it go a lot faster having you there."

"Mom said you could use all the help you could get, and I didn't have anything planned today, moving all that stuff was a lot of work for just three people."

"Most kids your age would have tried to make some excuse to get out of the work or expect to get paid for it."

"Well I have some friends that taught me how important it is to work together and help others just because it's the right thing to do, not because you'll get something for it."

"They must be smarter and nicer than a lot of people are these days."

Lucas smiled, "They are."

Doreen and Fred came over and passed out everyone's ice cream.

That evening Doreen was helping Ann get her bed made while telling her where everything was that she might need until she had finished unpacking.

"Ok, I think that's everything you need to know. Oh, one more thing, don't kill any ants."

Ann looked at her and said. "Ok. Why not?"

"I don't really know it's just about a year and a half ago I stepped out onto the front porch, Lucas was sitting out there and there where a couple of ants heading right at his leg I was afraid they might bite him. So I tried to step on them before they could get to him, I missed one, probably because of the ridges in the bottom of my shoe. Before I could get it he yelled at me to stop. I told him I didn't want him to get bitten and he said it wasn't going to bite him. Well, I went back in to the house and few minutes later he came in the house and ran to his bedroom crying and wouldn't talk to me for two days. He never would tell me why he was so upset. I don't know if some thing happened after I came in or if he was that upset about the ant. But I have avoided stepping on ants since then."

"Wow I remember him trying to destroy that ant hill in the front yard several times when I was babysitting. I can't imagine him being that upset about you killing one ant."

"I know. But it was the only thing that I could think of that I had done that might have upset him."


	2. Chapter 2

Ann spent the next few days looking for a job and unpacking her things. She was glad that the basement was so large; it was like a complete apartment with its own bathroom, kitchen, and a good-sized room that could be used as a living room and three other rooms. One for her bedroom, one she could use as a library and an office. She had hundreds of books and was glad to have somewhere to put them all. And if she was still staying there when school started up, that fall, she would have somewhere to study. And the last room was just big enough to store all of her family's belongings until she had time to go through them and decide what to keep.

She was finishing getting the last of her books put away when Lucas came down.

As he entered the room he asked, "Wow, you sure have a lot of books. Have you read all of these?"

Ann said. "Not all of them. But most of them I have at least read parts of, and it's nice to have them around when I need the information instead of having to go to the library."

"Do you have any books about the history of this area?"

She pointed to a shelf and said. "That whole shelf there is local history books. I have the history of the county, cemetery and census records including all kinds of stuff about this area. Is there something specific you wanted to know about the area?"

"Would any of those books tell about what was built here before our house?"

"They might, but first we would have to go to the court house and find out who owned the land before it was built."

Lukas looked disappointed and said "Oh, ok, thanks anyways."

Ann looked back to him, "If you really want to know that badly we could go to the court house after lunch if it's ok with your parents."

"Really? That would be great. Oh, and that's why I came down, to tell you that lunch is ready. I'll go ask if we can go."

"Ok I'll be right up."

After about an hour at the courthouse they had found out that up until the fifties the land their house was on, and a lot of the surrounding land, had been owned by the government. It was eventually broken up and sold to several people. The man who had bought the land that the house was on had run an antique shop, but there was no mention of the building still being there when the people that had built the house bought the land.

When they got back to Ann's car Lucas asked, "So, how do we find out if the government had anything built there? And what happened to the antique place?"

Ann pulled her backpack out of the back seat and got out some of her books that she had brought with them and answered, "Now we look in these for any mention of them." She handed one to Lucas and told him to check the index for the guy's name and/or the name of the antique shop.

"What about the government place?"

"That book is mostly information about what was in the area when it was published in 1967. The government didn't own it any more then. I'll look it up in the book I have. That one will be easier for you to look stuff up in because it has an index and this one doesn't. I just have to look through everything that's for the right township."

"Ok."

After looking for a while Ann said. "I found something."

"What dose it say?"

"Not much just that there was a top secret government lab that was built during the First World War. No one really knew what they were doing, but there where rumors that they where testing some type of chemicals and stuff that was supposed to be really advanced beyond anything the rest of the world knew about back then."

"Dose it say what the chemicals where supposed to do?"

"No that's all it says."

"Is there anywhere else we can look for information about it?"

"We can go to the library and check the news papers. We're lucky our library has all of their newspapers indexed on computer. So we will be able to just type in what we are looking for."

Lucas smiled and said. "Great let's go!"

"Did you find anything about the antique shop?"

"Yes, it says it was one of the nicest antique shops in the south west. And the only one that had stuff shipped in from the east to sell. It says they even had stuff from clear back during the American Revolution that they would sell."

"Wow! I would have loved to see it. It's hard to find stuff that old this far west."

"So now can we go to the library?"

Ann started the car and said. "Ok, ok, we're going. Why are you so curious about the lab?"

"Well I have these friends who are kind of different, and I think it's because of something that happened before the house was built, so whatever they where doing in that lab might have something to do with it."

"How are they different?"

"They're smarter than others like them and they look kind of different."

"Is there any chance I could meet them?"

"I don't know. Ever since we realized how different they are we've been kind of worried that if any one knows about them they might end up being caught to be studied or something. But I could ask next time I see them I know you could be trusted not to tell anyone about them. That's why I asked for your help."

"Thank you, Lucas. I'm glad you trust me."

After going through several newspaper articles they found out that there had been an explosion at the lab, because of some chemicals that had been dumped and accidentally been ignited. The antique shop had burned a few years before the land had been bought to build the houses that were there now. Over a million dollars worth in antiques had been burned and the safe that had some of the most valuable items in was never found the fire fighters said that the fire must have been hot enough to have melted it because a lot of the metal items had been found completely melted when they started to clear away what was left.

Ann sighed and said. "Well, I think that's about all were going to find unless there are government records that tell what they where doing in the lab, if their available to the public. I'm sorry we didn't find what you were looking for."

"That's ok, at least I know more than I did before. Maybe when we get back from vacation you could help me find out if we can get a hold of the other records if they're available."

"I'd love to. You've gotten me curious now. I want to know what was going on too."

The next day the Nickle's were leaving on vacation.

Doreen said. "Ann, I want you to relax this weekend. No worrying about looking for a job until Monday. You just find something to do that will take your mind off of everything."

Ann told her, "Don't worry about me, there's a battle reenactment today, so I'll go to it. Handsome Native American men, a lot of them in only loincloths, are always a good distraction. And it'll give me an excuse to wear my new pioneer dress. Then I just have to wait for some handsome warrior to carry me off."

Doreen smiled and said. "If you need anything the numbers we can be reached at are on the front of the fridge. We will be at the hotel until next Saturday and then we are visiting Fred's sister for a few days. Are you sure you'll be ok here by your self?"

Don't worry I'll be fine. Go enjoy your vacation and hopefully I will have found a job by the time you get back.

Right before Lucas got in the car he ran over to Ann and said. "I told one of my friends that you wanted to meet them and he said he would ask. So if it's all right you can meet them when we get back."

Ann smiled, "Good, I hope they'll say yes. You have me really curious about them."

After they left Ann headed to the reenactment.

That evening when she got home she was exhausted but she had a fun day. She just wanted to get to bed. As she was locking the door she heard a click behind her like someone cocking a gun. She turned around and saw two men standing in the kitchen doorway, one of them had a gun pointed at her.

The other one said. "I thought you said the people that lived here were gone."

"They where supposed to be. At least it's just one person. Still, we can't have any witnesses." The one with the gun said as he aimed at Ann.

Ann was terrified, there was no way she could get the door unlocked and opened before he fired the gun. There was only one other way she could go. So she shot up the stairs as fast as she could. She heard the gun fire and the bullet hit the wall only a few inches away from her head. She ran in to Lucas's grandmother's room and locked the door. Then ran to the window and climbed onto the roof outside. She could here the men trying to break the door down and knew she had to get down quickly. Getting from the roof outside the window to the next one down was easy enough, but then there was a nine or ten foot drop at the very least to the ground. She heard one of the men yell, "she's on the roof." She knew she didn't have time to figure out how to get down without getting hurt. So she just jumped, hoping she wouldn't get hurt to badly. She landed on her feet but one of her ankles twisted as she landed, causing her to fall. As she tried to stand up pain shot through her ankle and she fell back down. She looked up and saw the man with the gun aimed at her, she knew if she didn't get out of there now she was dead. She tried to stand again and heard the gunfire at the same time there was a bright flash of light. When she opened her eyes at first she thought she was dead, until she tried to stand, and pain shot through her ankle. She managed to get up but tried not to move because of the pain.

"_Ok, I don't think my ankle would still hurt if I'm dead. So where am I?" she thought._

It looked like she was in the middle of a jungle, she looked up and could see the house, it looked huge. She heard the two men come out of the house and one of them said. "I'm not robbing a place where people just disappear."

The other one said. "I'm with you let's get out of here. Hey, where's the van?"

"It was here when we went in. forget about it, let's just get out of here!"

Ann could here them run off right before she heard something behind her. When she turned around what she saw made her think of the time she had been babysitting Lucas, and his grandmother had told her to watch out for tiny aliens that had abducted Lucas because they might come back for him. Now she was wandering if she had been right. Whatever it was, had stopped when she tuned around, it was still mostly hidden in the shadows it was holding a staff that had some type of glowing crystal on top of it that gave enough light for her to see its face. It had huge eyes- just like people said aliens had- and it had long antennas.

It slowly started to move out of the shadows and into the moonlight. Although she still couldn't see it very well, she could tell that the rest of it looked like an ant, only it walked up on four legs instead of six.

As it came towards her it said. "Its alright I'm not going to hurt you."

She had started to back up, and as she put her foot down, pain shot through her ankle and it seamed that the combination of the pain and the shock of what she was seeing was too much for her. She felt dizzy and then everything went black.

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	3. Chapter 3

Thanks to my only reviewer x-HMWayre-x. Your review gave me the motivation I needed to get over a case of writers block.

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When Ann woke up she was in a dimly lit room and it felt like someone had wrapped her ankle with something. She could just barely make out what looked like book shelves carved into the wall and a doorway that had what looked like a leaf covering it and a little bit of light shining in around the edges, but most of the light was coming from behind her. When she turned to see where it was coming from she gasped when she saw a firefly, about the size of her fist lying in a small hole in the wall, on what looked like a scrap of cloth. When she had gasped it woke up and flew out of the room. 

A moment later the creature she had seen before came through the door and crystals in the ceiling lit up giving her, her first good look at it. It looked about a foot taller than her, but that was mostly because of its strangely shaped tall pointed head. Most of it looked like an ant except for the way it stood and its three fingered hands. Its face didn't look like an ants except for the antennas and what looked like mandibles that stuck out of the sides of its face, a few inches under it's eyes, but they didn't look like they could move much or be brought together the way a normal ant would be able to, and its eyes still made her wonder if it was an alien. They where huge and aside from their size, they looked almost like human eyes. The irises where an unusual blue that seemed to catch the light.

As it came further into the room she started to get off the far side of the bed, still not sure what it would do to her, and was painfully reminded that her ankle was hurt.

The creature stopped and said. "Sit back down, I won't hurt you, you shouldn't be standing on that ankle."

Ann sat back down in too much pain to argue and asked, "Who and what are you?"

"My name is Zoc, I'm an ant and a friend of Lucas's."

The firefly that was now sitting on his shoulder started to buzz and he said. "And this is spindle."

"Your one of the friends Lucas was telling me about?" Ann asked in a state of shock. She had expected something unusual, but not talking ants.

"Yes."

"Where are we?"

"You know the anthill in the front yard?"

"You mean the one Lucas used to constantly attack right after they moved in to the house?"

"Yes. You're inside of it."

"How on earth did you end up being friends after all the times he attacked you?" Ann asked.

"It's a long story, I'll tell you tomorrow if you'd like, but right now if you don't need anything else, you should try to get some more sleep. If you would be more comfortable in your own bed I could take you back to the house, but you're welcome to stay here for the night."

For a moment Ann thought about having him take her back, but the thought of being alone after everything that had happened would be scarier than staying with a talking ant. Although part of her kept thinking she would wake up and this whole thing will have been just a dream.

She finally said. "I'll stay here, if you're sure its no trouble."

"It's no trouble at all. Just get some sleep and if you need any thing just tell Spindle and he'll let me know."

Spindle flew back over to his bed.

"Ok."

As Zoc started to leave Ann called, "Zoc."

He turned and she said. "Thank you for saving me."

"You're welcome, although it was partially my fault that you where in danger if I hadn't shrunk their van, you would have known someone was there."

"How did you shrink their van and me?"

"I'll explain tomorrow."

"Alright. Good night."

"Good night, Ann."

As he left the room, the crystals dimmed until they finally went out.

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	4. Chapter 4

A couple of notes

Part of the scene where Zoc is a child is based on one of the deleted scenes on the DVD.

Just so you know who I'm talking about towards the end of the chapter I have decided to name Lucas's grandmother Ellen. As far as I know her name was never mentioned, if I'm wrong and you know what it is let me know.

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When Ann woke up, she carefully set her foot down to get up, and was surprised to find that it caused no pain and barely any pain even when she put her full weight on it. As bad as it had hurt before, she had thought it would be quite a while before she would be able to walk without pain. 

She looked over to where Spindle was still asleep and decided to let him sleep. she could see well enough to get to the door and she had no idea how long she had slept, or if it was even morning yet, being under ground she had no way of knowing what time it was, and she didn't want to wake anyone if it was still night. She had been lying awake for about fifteen minutes listening for any sign that anyone else was awake, she hadn't heard anything, but she couldn't stand just lying there anymore.

As she quietly headed towards the door she noticed the light from behind her move and, a second later, Spindle landed on her shoulder

She had never been afraid of bugs, but having one that big on her shoulder made her a little uncomfortable. Although, she realized he was probably smaller than any firefly she had ever seen before, and only seemed so big because of her being shrunk, it didn't make her any less uncomfortable.

"_Well I'd better get used to it. I'll have to deal with bigger bugs before I get back to normal, and if I want my questions answered."_ She thought.

She had always been a curious and determined person. If she wanted to know about something, she found a way to learn about it whether that meant asking people questions, reading about it or spending hours sorting through thousands of records at the court house that had been put into boxes, after a fire damaged part of it and had never been resorted. It had taken months to do, but she had eventually found the will of her great, great, great grandfather organized and indexed all of the wills, and the court house gave her free copies whenever she wanted to make a copy of a record for doing it.

She wasn't going to let being a little uncomfortable stop her from getting answers. Besides, Zoc seemed nice enough, she just had to get used to being around ants that were as tall as her.

Ann exited the room, now entering a bigger room with a large window on one side and a doorway on the other side. She walked over to the window and looked out. She was surprised to see a large open area instead of just tunnels that lead to different rooms like the ants had made in the ant farm she had, or that she had seen in books. There were large support columns that looked like they also served as homes for the ants because she could see light coming from windows in them, a long path connected them and looked like it ended at the door way across the room from her. When she looked up she realized where she was, was actually a large root instead of one of the columns, like everything else she could see. There was light shining above her, but she couldn't tell if it was coming from another crystal or if it was open to the outside because of the shape of the root. Suddenly, Spindle flew off of Ann's shoulder and started to buzz. Ann turned around and realized that Zoc was coming out of one of the other rooms. Spindle flew over to him, after Zoc told him good morning; he landed on Zoc's shoulder.

Zoc looked at Ann and asked. "How's your leg?"

"It barely hurts at all. What did you do to it? I thought it would be days until I would be able to walk without it hurting."

"I just used a healing potion on it."

"You mean like a magic potion?"

"Exactly."

"So, do you think you could answer some of my questions now? Because it seems the longer I'm here the more questions I have."

"Of course, how about over breakfast?"

"Ok."

"Are you up to a short walk? I have some friends that would be able to tell you more about how Lucas ended up being our friend."

"My ankle doesn't hurt unless I put my full weight on it. I should be fine walking as long as I'm careful."

When they got out on to the path that lead to Zoc's home, Ann looked up and could see what looked like a piece a aluminum foil at the top of the open area, that reflected light from another tunnel down to where they where.

"Where does the light come from?" Ann asked pointing up to where she had been looking.

"It's reflected down from above ground. That's how most of the nest is lit, except for the crystals that are used to light the homes."

"How do the crystals work so that you can turn them on and off? I have never seen anything like them before."

"It's actually two different types of crystals, when they are close to each other they glow."

As they walked, Ann asked him about how he was able to shrink her, and he told her about him being a wizard. When they had left the area where his home was, they had entered a long dimly lit tunnel. As they came out of the tunnel Ann was again surprised at how much open space there was. The area was huge with what looked like a slow moving river running through it. Areas of land stuck up out of the water that were connected by bridges, she could see tables and dozens of ants sitting around them and also moving around them.

When they got to one of the areas with tables, Zoc led Ann over to one of the tables and introduced her to Kreela and Fugax. They sat down, and Fugax brought over a bowl of what looked like drops of greenish liquid, he passed one to each of them.

After finishing hers Ann asked, "This is good, what is it?"

Kreela answered her saying, "Its honeydew."

"Do you want some more?" Fugax asked getting up to go get more.

"No, thank you." Ann said while trying to keep her face from showing how disgusted she was about what she had just eaten. She had, had an ant farm since she was eleven, had read a lot of books about ants and knew exactly what honeydew was.

She must not have done very well hiding how she felt, because Zoc and Kreela looked like they were trying not to laugh.

Kreela said, "I'm guessing you already know what honeydew is?"

Ann said. "Yes I do."

"Just try not to think about where it comes from." Zoc advised her.

Fugax came back with a bowl of pieces of multi colored stuff in it, and started to pass it out.

"What is this?" Ann asked.

"Sweet rocks, only thing better than honeydew." Fugax answered.

Ann hesitated a moment, not sure what a sweet rock was, or if it was something she really wanted to eat.

Zoc noticed and told her, "Don't worry its human food. Lucas told me humans call them jellybeans. He keeps us well supplied since we became friends."

"So how did you end up being friends after all the times he attacked you?" Ann asked.

Zoc, Kreela and Fugax told her about when Zoc had first shrunk Lucas, and everything that had happened while he had been with them.

When they finished Kreela said she had to get to a class she taught, Fugax went with her and Zoc took Ann home so she could find out if the men who broke in had caused any damage.

On their way Ann said. "Would you mind if I asked you a few more questions?"

"Of course not, what do you want to know?"

"You said you had to mix a potion to shrink Lucas, but you just used your staff to shrink me. Why didn't you use the staff to shrink Lucas?"

"I wasn't powerful enough back then. A wizard starts out learning to use potions because the staff is more powerful and requires more knowledge to use and control. Back then, the most I could do with it was create small explosions. It's only because of Lucas flooding the nest that I have been able to learn to do more with it. When we were repairing the tunnels, a hidden room was found that had a large number of books in it, including several books about magic.

"Why were the books hidden?"

"The wizards who wrote them wanted to make sure the information was written down in case it was ever needed, but they also believed that a young wizard should learn from an older, more experienced wizard and not from books, because there's less chance of misunderstanding what you're being taught by a person, than with books, and when it comes to magic making mistakes can be dangerous."

"Why did you need the books to learn then? Wasn't there anyone to teach you?"

A look of grief crossed Zoc's face and he said. "No, when I was a kid the cloud breather came and killed almost half of the colony including all of the other wizards, and most of my family."

"Wait a minute what is a cloud breather? And what do you mean 'your family'? I thought all the ants in a colony were the children of one queen."

"I believe Lucas called the cloud breather an 'exterminator'. As for the family thing, about half of the ants in the colony are the queen's children, the rest are the children of other couples in the colony. My brothers and I were the oldest three of twelve children, my parents had. They were all killed when the cloud breather came, except for my one sister, Hope. She was in training to be a nurse and was in one of the lower hatching chambers, the poison didn't get that far down into the nest. No one even knew what was happening until it was too late, everyone down far enough in the nest to be safe didn't realize what had happened until someone came up from the lower chambers and found the bodies." Zoc shuddered and said. "There were so many bodies lying around, everyone that had been outside, or in the upper chambers had been killed, except for me."

"You were outside when it happened? How did you survive?" Ann asked curiously.

"My father was one of the wizards that taught the younger wizards. He had me gathering nectar from the top of a flower, I was terrified of heights back then and had finally made it to the top when the cloud breather came. My father had to get the other four students back to the nest and couldn't wait for me to get down. The cloud of poison stayed close enough to the ground that I was safe on top of the flower. But everyone else that had been outside was killed, I could hear them screaming and then it just stopped no sound at all just this silence, like I was the only one still alive, for a while I thought I was. When I got down and headed for the nest all I saw were bodies, no sign of life any where. Then I found Spindle he was just a larva, and had dug up out of the dirt where the poison was settling. I carried him back to the nest with me, he's stayed with me ever since. When I got back to the nest I was taken to a friend's home to wait with my sister until we knew if any of our family had survived. I kept telling her that if I had survived then at least our dad had to have survived. He was a powerful wizard he could handle anything. Then someone brought his staff in, handed it to me, and told us that we were the only survivors from our family, and I was the only surviving wizard."

Ann couldn't help thinking about loosing her own family. But at least she had been an adult. She finally said, "I can't imagine how horrible it must have been loosing your family when you where so young."

"At least I still have my sister. You'll have to meet her sometime. I think the two of you would get along quite well. She's almost as curious about humans as Hova was, and she could answer any other questions you have about the colony."

"I'd love to meet her and Hova. When-" Ann stopped, mid-sentence, when she saw the sad look on Zoc's.

Zoc told her, "I wish you could have met her. Lucas's mother killed her, about a year and a half ago. Lucas had been gone for a couple of weeks. While he was gone I had finally asked Hova to marry me. She was so excited, as soon as he got home she wanted to go tell him. We were heading across the porch towards him, when a foot came down on top of us. Somehow I ended up in a hollow section, but when it lifted, Hova was dead."

Ann was shocked, when she had found out that the ants were Lucas's friends, she assumed that it had been one of them that his mother had killed. But the thought had never crossed her mind that it could have been Hova. The way Zoc talked about her when they had been telling her about when he had shrunk Lucas, it was obvious that he had been completely in love with her, how many men would risk their life letting something eat them to save someone they hated, just to keep the woman they loved from being angry at them?

"I'm so sorry. I can't imagine how horrible it must have been to be right there and not been able to do anything to stop it." Ann said.

"I think it would have been harder on me if I hadn't been there. At least I know that she didn't suffer, and as quickly as it happened she probably never realized what was happening."

They came to the end of the tunnel they had been in, and Ann realized it opened into her living room.

"Why does this come to my living room?" she asked.

"It was built shortly after Lucas became our friend, so if he wanted to visit he could come down here and call us through the tunnel so that I would come shrink him. That way, no one would notice. We haven't been able to use it since you moved in, now that you know about us, we can start using it again and if you want to come visit or ever need anything just call for me through the tunnel."

Ann asked. "Do you think I could come back tomorrow? I'd really like to see more of the nest and meet your sister if she's not busy."

"That would be fine. Now go stand in the center of the room so I can get you back to your normal size."

Ann walked to the middle of the room, turned around and saw Zoc aiming his staff at her. "This isn't going to hurt is it?" she asked, a little nervously..

Zoc smiled and asked, "It didn't hurt when I shrunk you, did it?"

Before she could reply light shot out of his staff at her, she squeezed her eyes shut, when she opened them again, she was full sized again.

Ann spent the rest of the day searching the house to find out if anything had been stolen. The TV and DVD player were missing, but she assumed they would be in the van that Zoc said he had shrunken. As fast as the men had run away, she doubted that they could have been carrying anything that big.

She found several drawers dumped out in Doreen and Fred's room, as well as Doreen's jewelry box, but Ann knew all that had been in it was some cheap jewelry and none of it was missing. Doreen kept anything of value in a jewelry box that looked like a book and kept it on one of the bookshelves, since there were no books missing Ann was sure it hadn't been found.

After cleaning everything up, the only sign that anyone had broken in was a window at the back of the house that was most likely where the men had broken in, the lock on Ellen's door that had been busted open and left the doorframe badly splintered and the bullet hole in the wall above the stairs. Just looking at it made a chill run down Ann's spine as she remembered how close it had sounded to her head. If it had hit a couple inches farther forward, it probably would have hit her head.

She had no idea how she was going to explain the damage to the Nickle's when they got home. If she told them someone had broken in, they would want to know why she hadn't called the police. Which she hadn't done because they would have wanted to know why she hadn't called the night before and she couldn't tell them that a talking ant had saved her, they would probably lock her up in a mental hospital. She would just have to figure something out before the Nickle's got home.

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Please don't hate me for killing Hova. It was the only way I could make this work. This whole story is based on a dream I had and the only way I can make it work is to have Hova out of the way and I just couldn't see Zoc and Hova ever breaking up so I had to kill her.  I really love Zoc and Hova their such a neat couple and I have thought of righting some fics about them it's just this one got into my head and won't get out until I write it. 

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	5. Chapter 5

Thanks to silver11k and x-HMWayre-x for reviewing.

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Ann had called Zoc, and was now pacing back and forth while waiting for him to get back. She couldn't help being impatient, she had thought of so many more questions she wanted to ask, and she couldn't wait to see more of the nest. All of a sudden there was a bright flash and she was the size of an ant again. She ran over to the opening in the wall where Zoc was waiting. 

Zoc smiled and asked, "You're not a very patient person are you?"

"I can be just not when I have questions I want answered."

Zoc groaned and asked. "More questions?" then he smiled at her, "I suppose I could answer your questions if you'll answer some questions I have about humans."

"Sounds like a good deal to me."

Zoc spent the next few hours showing Ann around the nest, he was showing her the meeting chamber, when she noticed a pocket watch that was part of the floor. Ann knelt down and started to brush some of the dirt off of it so she could see the face better, she couldn't believe what she found.

"What are you doing?" Zoc asked curiously.

"This watch is identical to one I have that belonged to my grandfather who fought in the American Revolution, which means it probably came from the antique shop, if it did, then they were wrong about everything being destroyed. Who knows what else could be buried around here."

"What is an 'American Revolution' and 'antique shop'? What are you talking about?" Zoc asked, obviously completely confused.

"The American revolution is something that happened over two hundred years ago. I'll tell you about it later. it will take a long time to tell you about it. As for the antique shop: it's a store that sells old stuff. There was one built here that burned down before the house was built."

"When did it burn down?"

"About thirty years ago."

"My father used to talk about a human building that burned down. The nest was close enough to it that they had to evacuate the whole nest because of the heat. They barely had time to get everyone out before there was an explosion, which destroyed the building and everything around it, including where the nest was. The only thing left – that was bigger than a brick- was a large metal box that my father said must have been really heavy, because it sunk into the mud when the humans started flooding the area to put the fire out."

Ann was shocked. if the box Zoc's father had seen was the safe, there could be millions of dollars worth of antiques buried somewhere on the property. If she could find it even though it was on their property she was sure the Nickle's would let her keep some of the money that they would be able to get from it, and even a small portion of it would probably be enough to pay for her living expenses until she graduated.

Ann jumped as Zoc put his hand on her shoulder. Ann realized she had been completely lost in her own thoughts.

"Are you ok?" Zoc asked worriedly.

"I was just thinking. That metal box your father saw, it was a safe full of valuable antiques. If I could find it, I would have enough money to last until I graduate, and it would be a great way to repay the Nickle's for letting me stay with them.

Did your father ever tell you where, exactly, it fell?"

"He said it fell straight down into the hole that was created by the explosion instead of away from it like most of the other debris, but he never mentioned where the hole was."

"Well that's a start; I'll have to go to the court house and see if I can find records that tell where the building was built. Then I will know where to start looking. So, what haven't I seen yet?"

"Just the hatching chambers and nursery where you'll get to meet my sister."

When they got to the hatching chambers Ann was amazed at what she saw: hundreds of eggs hung from the ceiling and would pop open, a baby would drop out and be caught by one of the many ants in the room.

"How do they keep from dropping them?" Ann asked, puzzled.

"They keep track of when each egg was laid and when it will hatch."

"Do they ever miss?"

"None that I've ever heard of. They go through years of training before they can work in here."

They entered a room with what looked like long cribs full of pupas.

"Hope was never good enough to work in the hatching chambers, so she ended up working in the nursery." Zoc commented smiling.

One of the ants came over, hit Zoc's arm and told him, "You try running around catching falling pupas and remembering which one of hundreds of eggs is going to hatch next, and where it is.

Zoc just smiled and introduced Ann and Hope.

Hope said, "I'm glad you came today. We have three nurses who are laying their eggs and two whose eggs are hatching today. So we could really use some extra-"

Before she could finish Zoc started backing towards the door and said, "Well we should get going. I still have to finish showing Ann around."

Ann was puzzled, "I thought you said this was the last thing you had to show me."

"I forgot about the grazing field, I still have to show you that." Zoc told her, sounding desperate to escape.

"Wouldn't you rather help take care of these adorable babies, than go watch a bunch if caterpillars eat?" Hope asked, holding up one of the babies.

"Of course I'll help. Zoc, you can show me the caterpillars later, Hope needs the help."

"Well I'm not helping her." Zoc informed them; crossing his arms and making a face that looked about half way between a look of determination and pouting.

Ann thought he looked adorable and funny. She couldn't help smiling; a slight chuckle escaped her lips.

Zoc looked like he was trying not to smile and asked, "What's so funny?"

"You look so cute when you pout." Ann told him, still smiling.

Zoc smiled and told her, "Well at least now I know you are capable of smiling, I was beginning to wonder."

"I guess I haven't really smiled since my family died. So, why won't you help take care of the babies?"

"I never said I wouldn't help with the babies. I said I wouldn't help my sister. She always makes me take care of the regurgitators and I end up covered in twice regurgitated food."

"Twice regurgitated?" Ann asked curiously.

"The pupas are fed regurgitated food. So it's been regurgitate twice by the time, it gets all over my brother and he gets the funniest look on his face when they do." Hope answered while smiling at Zoc. "But since I need the help, I promise I won't make you take care of any of the regurgitators.

Zoc said, "I suppose since you promised."

Ann and Zoc spent the rest of the day helping in the nursery. When Zoc finally took Ann home, he asked, "Where is the damage the men caused?"

"Upstairs, why?"

"Because I should be able to fix it with my magic, that way you won't have to explain what happened to anyone."

"That would be great."

"Once I get you back to your normal size take me to where the damage is. But try not to drop me."

"Couldn't you just make yourself bigger?"

"I've never thought about it before, but I think I should be able to."

Zoc retuned Ann to her normal size and then made himself bigger. Ann couldn't help smiling as she watched his reaction to being bigger.

Zoc looked around for a moment and finally said, "Everything looks so different. Lucas said that when I made him smaller it made things look different, but I didn't realize it would make this much of a difference, every thing looks so much smaller.

Ann let him look around a bit more and showed him where the damage was, and he was able to fix it.

After he left Ann collapsed into bed. She had, had a wonderful day, she had loved helping with the babies, and had promised Hope that she would come back and help again whenever she had the time, but it had been a long day and she was exhausted. She was asleep within minutes.

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	6. Chapter 6

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Ann couldn't believe how fast the next two weeks went by. She had spent her mornings looking for a job, and had finally found one on Friday, at an antique shop, and she was to start on Monday. The rest of her days were spent visiting with Zoc and Hope, meeting some of the other ants and helping in the nursery. Zoc had helped out in the nursery almost as often as she did and she had to agree with Hope, he really did look funny after one of the pupas had regurgitated on him. 

It was now Saturday and the Nickle's' would be back the next day, and she had wanted to get some of her family's stuff sorted through and out of the way, because she knew that the Nickle's had used the basement to store stuff, and she wanted to get the stuff out of their way so they could at least use some of the space.

The first several boxes were full of dishes, bedding and other household items that she kept what she would use and had given the rest away. Then she found a box with her brother's comic-book collection in it. So many of them brought back memories of when he had gotten them, birthdays, Christmas and several that he had begged her to drive him to the comic book shop to get. She would keep the ones that brought back special memories, but she knew she couldn't keep them all, she needed the money she could get from selling them.

As she sorted through them she found a Ninja Turtles one that she had gotten for him. She had been at a garage sale and the people had a large box of comic books for twenty dollars. she hadn't had time to do more than glance through it, but she saw enough comics in it that she didn't think her brother had to make it worth buying. When she got home and had time to look through them she was shocked, she had learned a little about comic book values from her brother, she had gone through about half of the box and what she had found at that point was probably worth a few hundred dollars. Then she found the Ninja Turtles comic. She had run into her brother's room, luckily he was at school, she found one of his books about comic book values, and found out what she had suspected was true. It was the first Ninja Turtles comic ever printed, her brother had wanted to get an original for years, but never had, because they sold for a few thousand dollars. For a moment she had considered selling it, but if her brother hadn't wanted it so badly and told her about it she never would have known how valuable it was. So she saved it for his birthday and gave him the rest of the box when he got home, but made him promise to let her sell any he already had.

She could still see his face in her mind, when he had opened it he had just sat staring at it for a moment and then had shot across the room and thanked her repeatedly while hugging her so tight she could barely breathe.

While they had been packing, he had come up to her and told her she was the best sister in the world. When she asked why, he had said because she had given him the comic book. It had been three years since she had given it to him, and he thanked her whenever he took it out to look at.

She fought back tears as she wondered how long he would have kept thanking her if he where still alive. Even if it was worth a few thousand dollars she could never sell it.

The next box she came to was her sister's belongings, on top was a display case with pins from seventeen different states in it. Her parents had gone on vacation to a different state each year, since they had gotten married, and had hoped to have visited all fifty states by their fiftieth anniversary. When each child was born they had started buying a pin from each state they visited. All three kids had enjoyed picking out there own pins, but her sister had loved to travel, and as soon as she learned to write she started to write down everything they did and saw. She had planned on spending a year after she graduated from high school traveling to as many states as possible and wanted to travel, not only to every state, but eventually to every continent. She had spent hours telling Ann about all the places she was going to see someday.

Ann set the pins in the box of stuff to keep.

When she had finished with the box of her sister's stuff she wasn't sure if she could handle anymore heart breaking memories, but she also wanted to get done as quickly as possible so she wouldn't have to deal with it later. But she had promised Hope that she would help in the nursery that evening and that would take her mind off of how much she missed her family. When she looked at the clock she realized she had completely lost track of time, it was already almost ten o'clock and was probably too late to go help Hope, so she decided to go through a few more boxes. She regretted that decision as soon as she opened the next large box. Her mother had bought a new Christmas ornament for each member of the family every year, in the first row in the box where the oldest ones that her mother would put at the top of the tree, there was a first Christmas together one from the first Christmas her parents had been married, and ones from when she and her siblings had been born and other special occasions, in the box with each ornament was a paper that her mother had written about the event that the ornament had been bought for, towards the bottom of the box were the ones from when her sister and her had gotten their cars, and one of a man in a suit with a briefcase for when her dad had gotten the promotion that had given them enough money to buy their own house.

They had had so many plans for the house, her father had wanted to stock the small pond with fish so they could go fishing when ever they wanted to, and her mother had always wanted vegetable and flower gardens, she had spent hours making lists of the types of plants she wanted, and drawing maps of where they would plant everything.

She had been so happy that they had one last big project that the whole family could do together before Ann graduated from college and moved out, and her sister graduated from high school and left for a year.

Ann couldn't hold back her tears. Her heart broke at the thought of how close her mother had come to getting what she had wanted for as long as Ann could remember.

By the time Ann had put the ornaments back in the box she was crying so hard she could barely see. She cradled her knees in her arms and laid her head on her knees. She felt so alone and wished more and more that she had died with her family.

Ann jumped as a hand was gently rested on her shoulder. She looked up to see Zoc kneeling in front of her with a worried, yet understanding, look on his face.

"I think you have spent long enough going through this stuff." He told her.

Ann nodded her head in agreement, trying to fight back more tears.

Zoc hesitated a moment before pulling Ann into a strong and comforting hug. She was shocked and for a second thought about pulling away. She had gotten used to being around the ants, but a part of her wasn't comfortable being this close to him, yet another part of her felt safe and at peace with his arms around her. Ann needed the comfort enough that it was that part of her that gave in. she wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his shoulder, as she gave up fighting the tears that refused to stop, and ended up crying herself to sleep.

Ann woke up slightly as she felt Zoc pick her up and carry to her bed. When he laid her down the feeling of loneliness returned and she couldn't bear the thought of being left alone again.

As Zoc finished covering her and turned to leave, Ann opened her eyes and grabbed his hand. Zoc turned around just in time to see her eyes shut again, when he tried to slip his hand out of hers she tightened her grip and mumbled

"don't leave, don't want to be alone." While pulling him closer to the bed.

Zoc sighed and said, "You didn't seem completely comfortable with me hugging you, if you wake up with me in your bed you'll freak out." He insisted. "As awake as you are right now you probably won't even remember this conversation."

Ann simply repeated, "Don't leave me." And tried to pull him onto the bed again.

Zoc could remember how lonely he had felt after loosing his family, and he had still had his sister, Ann didn't have anyone left. He finally gave in and lay down next to her. She rolled over, resting her head on his chest and wrapped her arms around him.

"When you wake up just try to remember you asked me to stay, before you try to squish me." Zoc told her, as he wrapped his arm around her.

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	7. Chapter 7

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When Ann began to wake up, she couldn't figure out what she was lying on, it definitely wasn't her pillow. It felt like something hard with something softer over it, maybe a thick piece of leather. 

She couldn't remember where she had fallen asleep the night before, but she felt safe and wasn't really awake enough to care, she didn't want to wake up enough to open her eyes to see where she was. So she decided to lie there until she woke up more or figured out where she had fallen asleep.

Then she noticed a faint heart beat and whatever it was, was moving like someone breathing.

Ann's eyes flew open and her heart started pounding as she remembered everything that had happened the night before, it took everything in her to keep from trying to pull away, not that she would have gotten very far her one arm was pinned under Zoc's back.

She remembered what Zoc had said about her freaking out and she didn't want him to think he had been right. Ok, so he had been right, she was freaking out, but she didn't want him to know that or think it was just because he was an ant. Honestly if she had woken up like this with a human man she probably would have freaked out a lot worse.

Ann slowly lifted her head and relaxed a bit when she when she realized he was still asleep. As she looked at his face she wondered if his face was like his chest and just had a layer of thick skin or if there was muscle between his skin and skeleton. She assumed there had to be but she wanted to know for sure. She had wondered how the ants could show so much emotion and move their faces as much as they did if they had normal exoskeletons. Her curiosity finally got the better of her, she slowly and carefully reached her hand towards his face while hoping he wouldn't wake up. She gently ran her fingers over the ridges above his eyes they felt like muscle which explained why he could move them so much, she slowly moved her hand farther down his face and felt air on the palm of her hand, she thought it was coming from his mouth until she realized his mouth was shut and the air seemed to be coming from his face where, if he had been human a nose would have been. She carefully moved her fingers down and could feel two areas that felt like the skin was thinner and there where openings behind it that he was breathing through.

Zoc moved slightly and Ann pulled her hand back and waited several minutes to make sure he wouldn't wake up. She knew she should stop and would die of embarrassment if he woke up and caught her, but again her curiosity got the better of her and when she was sure he was still asleep she carefully reached up and ran her fingers over his mandibles, they felt like solid bone and the inside edge was sharp. She hesitated a moment then gently ran a finger over his lips, they felt like a humans except for the thicker skin and she wondered what it would feel like if he kissed her.

Ann was shocked at what she had been thinking and quickly pulled her hand back.

"Afraid I was going to bite you?" Zoc asked, opening his eyes.

Shocked that he was awake and embarrassed that he had obviously been awake long enough to know what she had been doing, she pulled back and tried to sit up, as she did her hand that was still under his back caught on something sharp, but she was moving to fast to stop. Then as she started to come up so she would be sitting on her knees, the blankets that where over her caught under Zoc's back and forced her at an angle off the other side of the bed. Luckily, Zoc grabbed her arm before she could fall off.

"Are you alright? I didn't mean to scare you." Zoc said.

"No, I'm not alright. What on earth was under you?" She asked, lifting her hand up to see how badly she was hurt, the side of her hand was scraped and bleeding from her thumb to her wrist.

"Craznocks! I knew I should have made you move your arm when you wrapped it around my back, I just didn't want to wake you. It wasn't anything under me, it was one of the spikes on my back that your hand caught on." Zoc told her as he tore a strip off of the sheets and gently started to wrap it around Ann's hand.

"Their that sharp?" Ann asked.

"Almost as sharp as my mandibles."

Ann groaned and asked, "How long have you been awake?"

"Assuming that when your breathing changed is when you woke up, I woke up about fifteen minutes before you did."

Ann blushed and asked, "You were awake the whole time just waiting to see how badly you could scare me?"

"I just didn't want to wake you and then when you woke up and didn't freak out. I wanted to see what you would do, so let you think I was still asleep. When you pulled away so quickly I thought you had realized that I was awake. I never meant to scare you."

He took Ann's hand in his gently wrapping his long fingers around it and said, "I would never do anything to hurt you. Now let's get you in to the nest. I want to get a healing potion on your hand as soon as possible."

Ann agreed and Zoc left to get his staff from the other room. When Ann got off of the bed she noticed two slits that went through the blankets, the top one had even cut into the mattress. As Zoc walked back into the room Ann said, "You get to help me flip the mattress over after you take care of my hand."

"Why dose it need to be flipped?"

"Because, Doreen sometimes helps me make the bed after I wash the sheets and I don't want to have to try to explain why there's a hole in the mattress."

Zoc's staff lit up for a second, he smiled and asked, "What hole?"

Ann turned around and saw that the holes where gone and the sheet that Zoc had torn the strip off of to wrap her hand with had been fixed. Ann turned back to face Zoc, smiled and said, "I suppose that will do."

"Good, now let's go take care of your hand."

"So how long will it take for my hand to stop hurting after you get the healing potion on it?" Ann asked as they headed to the nest.

"About half an hour until it heals enough to stop hurting and a few hours for it to heal completely."

After Zoc had put the healing potion on Ann's hand and rebandaged it, he asked, "Do you want some breakfast before I take you home?"

"Are you going to try to get me to eat more honeydew?"

"It really isn't that bad."

"Yeah, it tastes great until you realize it came out of a caterpillars butt."

"Ok, fine, it is disgusting if you think about where it comes from, you just have to learn not to think about it."

"I think I'll stick with eating human food. Let's go back to the house and I'll make us some breakfast. Have you ever had pancakes?"

"Are you sure going back to the house to eat is a good idea? Didn't you say Lucas's family would be home today?"

"They won't be home until this evening."

"Ok. So what are pancakes?"

"They're… a bunch of different foods mixed together, then cooked. It might be easier to explain while I make them and you can watch."

"Ok."

When they got back to the house Zoc watched Ann make the pancakes and asked her about each unfamiliar food as she mixed them. Most of the food was easy enough to explain the syrup from tree sap and the flour from grain where foods the ants ate quite often and they occasionally found eggs that had fallen out of bird's nests and ate those. Then she got out the milk, that led to a long discussion about mammals, humans and where milk came from.

Just when she thought he had finally run out of questions he asked, "So that's what the growths on your chest are for."

Ann blushed and said. "Yes. Now that's enough questions for now, the food is done." She set his food in front of him.

After tasting it Zoc said, "This is really good."

"I thought you would like it."

After they had finished eating Ann said, "I should get some more of my family's stuff sorted."

"Would you mind if I stayed? I know I won't be much help, but I don't think you should be alone while you go through that stuff."

Ann smiled and said; "Actually, having you here to keep me from thinking about my family to much would help a lot.

Ann and Zoc spent the next several hours going through her family's stuff and telling each other about their families. Ann had been doing pretty well going through the stuff, Zoc seemed to be able to tell when the memories where becoming too much for her to handle and would start telling her about his family or things he had done or seen.

Then she opened a box of photo albums, the pictures of her family, all the memories they brought back and knowing they would never be able to do those things again broke her heart and no matter how hard she tried she couldn't hold back her tears. Zoc took the photo album and set it back in the box, then reached up and gently brushed the tears off of her cheek and said, "I think it's time to take a break." Smiling he added, "And I know just what to do to take your mind off of all this."

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	8. Chapter 8

Zoc shrunk them and took Ann through a tunnel that led up into Doreen's cactus garden.

"What are we doing here?" Ann asked.

"You'll see. You aren't afraid of heights, are you?"

"No." She answered and then heard a loud buzzing sound, she looked up and saw a huge wasp coming towards them and took a couple of steps back as it landed in front of them.

"It's alright, he's a friend, we've been friends with his colony since they helped us stop the cloud breather." Zoc said.

"What are you doing here?" The wasp asked.

"She needs something to take her mind off of her family and I thought you might be able to help." Zoc said pulling Ann forward.

"So you want me to give her something else to think about for a while."

The way he said it Ann was sure he would have been grinning if he had been able to.

Zoc grinned and answered, "Exactly." Zoc looked at Ann and said. "Take your shoes off."

"Why do I need to take them off?"

"Your feet will be less likely to slip if you have them off."

While Ann took her shoes off Zoc strapped his staff to his back and climbed on to the Wasp's back then reached down to help Ann up.

"Are you sure this is safe?" Ann asked as she took his hand and he easily lifted her up onto the wasps back in front of him.

"Don't worry, I've been doing this for three years and have never fallen off."

"Zoc, I'm a human, I can't hold on with my feet like you can."

"I won't let you fall." Zoc said wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her back against his chest. He grabbed the wasp's antennas with his other hand.

The wasp's wings started to beat and they lifted off the ground. Ann grabbed a hold of Zoc's arm as they took off across the yard getting higher, and higher, until they where flying over the houses and then out into the country and over huge fields of wild flowers.

At first, Ann was scared that she would fall but after a few minutes she relaxed and started to enjoy it. She loved the feel of the wind as it blew through her hair and rippled her skirt around her ankles.

After about an hour, they flew over a river that ran through a field of wild flowers and the wasp landed inside of a rose on a rose bush that was growing next to the stream.

"Why did we land?" Ann asked.

"It's getting to hot for flying. We'll rest here for an hour or two until the sun isn't directly overhead and it starts to cool off a bit." Zoc said as he jumped off of the wasp and helped Ann down.

The wasp flew off and Ann asked. "Where is he going?"

Zoc led her out to the edge of the rose and pointed out a forested area and said, "He's going hunting in there where it's cooler, they no longer try to steal the caterpillars from the colony so they have had to find other places to hunt. It was on one of the occasions that we where out flying that he found out that there was a good supply of food to be caught in there, so now when ever I ask to go flying we end up out here and he'll spend a couple hours hunting, if he finds enough, he'll find a safe place to store it and have a few of the others come back with him to get it later."

Zoc walked back into the rose and came back with two drops of liquid and handed one to Ann.

"What's this?" Ann asked.

"It's nectar."

They sat at the edge of the rose as they ate, where they could see out over the river.

After a few minutes Zoc pointed to the other side of the river and said, "Look over there."

Ann looked to where he had pointed, just in time to see a river otter slide into the water, a few seconds later another, smaller one slowly started to come out of a burrow on the bank and then was pushed into the water as three more came out and tried to push past it to get to the water.

"Oh, Zoc, they're adorable. Did you already know about them?"

"Yes, I've been watching them for a few weeks now. I thought you would like to see them."

They watched the otters play almost an hour before they suddenly disappeared back into their burrow as if something had scared them.

A few seconds later they noticed a mule deer with two fawns that had come out of the forest and walked to the river getting a drink and then the doe started to graze while the fawns raced around playing.

After a while they headed back to the forest.

Ann and Zoc spent a while talking and watching for anything else that might come out.

The only thing that came out was a rabbit that sat a few feet from the rose bush munching on some leaves.

All of a sudden Zoc's antennas started to twitch and he got a weird look on his face.

"Are you alright?" Ann asked.

"Get away from the edge." Zoc commanded as he grabbed his staff and started to get up.

"Why, what's wrong?" Ann asked as she stood up.

Before he could answer, a hard breeze hit the rose bush and they both fell out of the rose, as they started to fall Zoc grab Ann's arm and managed to catch his staff between the bases of two leaves and quickly pulled them both up onto the leaf.

As soon as she was safely on the leaf Ann collapsed onto her knees, her heart was pounding harder than it ever had before, she couldn't catch her breath and she was shaking.

Zoc knelt down, rested a hand on her shoulder and asked. "Other than being scared half to death, are you alright?"

Taking a couple of deep breaths Ann said. "I think so. What caused that breeze?"

Zoc pointed behind her and said. "That did."

Ann turned to see a golden eagle eating the rabbit. It was huge and with the size she was it made it look even bigger.

"We need to get back inside of the rose before it takes off, we could fall from here."

"Didn't we just fall out of the rose?"

"If we had, had time to get farther in, we wouldn't have and the only other safe place would be on the ground and it would take longer to get down there."

"Ok and how am I supposed to get up there? I doubt I can just climb up there like you can."

"I'll carry you up." Zoc said as he picked Ann up.

"Will you be able to hold on well enough if you're carrying me?" Ann asked.

"Don't worry, when it comes to climbing I actually have a better grip with my feet than hands."

They got back up to the rose just as the eagle was finishing the rabbit. They got far enough back into the rose that Zoc said they shouldn't fall out again as long as they where careful but where they could still see the eagle. Zoc drove his staff into the rose petals and then they laid down with the staff on one side of Ann and Zoc on the other side of her with his arm over her back and holding onto the staff.

The eagle spread its wings, with its seven-foot wingspan it was impossible to see all of its wings from inside of the rose but with what she could see and the size she was Ann thought it looked bigger than any airplane she had ever seen. As it started to flap its wings and the rose started to sway from the breeze, Ann grabbed a hold of the staff and Zoc tightened his grip.

When the rose finally stopped moving they walked out to the edge and could see the eagle circle the area a few times before it flew out of site.

Ann leaned back against the side of the rose and slid down until she was sitting down and said. "The eagle was amazing, but I think that's enough excitement for one day."

Zoc smiled and said. "I couldn't agree with you more."

A few minutes later the wasp came back and they headed home. As they landed they heard the Nickle's pull in and rushed into the basement and Zoc returned Ann to her normal size just as Doreen called down to see if she was there.

Ann helped the Nickle's carry their stuff in and was about to head back down to the basement when Lucas asked her if she could put the stuff out of the cooler away for him because there was something else he really needed to do. Ann agreed, a moment later she heard the basement door quietly close. She quickly finished putting the food away and then headed to the basement but the door was locked luckily she had the key Doreen had given her and quietly unlocked the door then relocked it.

When she got down there, Lucas was kneeling at the far end of the couch where the entrance to the tunnel was that led to the nest.

"What are you doing down here?" Ann asked trying to sound serious and not to smile.

Lucas shot up and looked like he had been caught doing something he shouldn't have.

"I - before we left my baseball rolled down the steps and I forgot to get it, I was just looking for it.

"Ok, and why would you be looking in here? The office is right at the bottom of the stairs and I never shut that door so why would you be looking in here for it. How would it have gotten around the corner and not only into this room, but at the far end of it? And why did you have the door locked?"

"Well …um…I-" Lucas stuttered, not sure what to say.

All of a sudden Zoc appeared standing behind Lucas.

"I suppose you think he took your baseball." Ann said trying not to smile and pointing at Zoc.

Lucas turned around, let out a yell of surprise, took a step back and fell over the arm of the couch.

Ann and Zoc both started laughing.

Lucas managed to get into a sitting position and stared at Zoc for a moment and finally asked. "Since when have you been able to make your self bigger? And how did she find out about you?"

"Since Ann suggested it. As for how she found out about me that may take a while to explain, so she'll have to explain that to you since I shouldn't really be here when your family might come down and see me."

"Actually, the door is locked so no one else can get down here. You can stay as long as you want, unless Doreen would need me." Ann said.

Zoc and Ann told Lucas about what had happened over the two weeks he had been gone. They had just told him about the eagle knocking them out of the rose when Doreen knocked on the door and called down to tell them dinner was done.

"Come on, Lucas, we need to go eat." Ann said trying not to smile.

"What, no you have to tell me what happened! How far did you fall? Did you get hurt? You can't stop now, mom can wait a minute." Lucas said sounding desperate to know what had happened.

They quickly finished telling him and then Zoc left and Ann and Lucas headed upstairs for dinner.

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	9. Chapter 9

The next day, Ann had started working at the antique shop. It was a small shop in a building that had once been a general store in the eighteen hundreds and many of the items that where for sale could have originally come from the general store. The old woman, Elnora who ran the shop even had a display case that had several items in it that had the stores name on them.

Ann had always loved antiques and enjoyed being able to look at the stuff and had started taking her laptop with her to work and would put together family trees for the people who's names she found written in the covers of books or on some of the old photographs.

But after a few weeks she was starting to get bored with it. She had done extensive family trees for every name she had found on stuff, nothing new had been brought in and only about a dozen people came in each week. When Ann had asked Elnora why she kept the place open when so few people came Elnora had told her that she and her husband had worked together in the shop since a few years after they had been married and she just couldn't bear the thought of leaving. Not having customers wasn't a problem because she didn't need the money from the shop, her parents had been rich and she had been an only child so she got everything when they died and she was sure the money she still had would last her the rest of her life.

Ann still spent most of her evenings helping in the nursery and visiting with Hope and Zoc. It was one of the things she looked forward to being able to do once she got home from work.

But it was the weekends that she looked forward to the most, every weekend Zoc would take her out flying and they would spend the afternoon talking and watching the otters and other wildlife.

Unfortunately, this Saturday, it was over a hundred degrees out and to hot for the wasps to travel far especially if they had someone on their back. So Ann was reading in the basement, which even with air conditioning seemed to hot.

Lucas came down and asked, "Ann could you do me a favor?"

"That depends, what do you want me to do?"

"Well, mom and dad are taking Tiffany to look at cars and they said I have to go with them because Mommo's taking a nap and they don't want me too bother you. I really don't want too go it's to hot and would be so boring. So, could you tell them you where going swimming and you'll take me with you? Please? Anyways, doesn't going swimming sound really nice with this heat?"

"Yeah, and everyone else probably thinks the same thing and the pool will be so crowded you wont be able to swim and I hate crowded pools."

"Well we wouldn't be going to the swimming pool. I know a place that we can swim and it shouldn't be crowded at all. You just have to tell my parents you're taking me swimming but not where."

"Oh, alright."

After Lucas's parents and Tiffany had left Ann asked, "Ok, so where are we going swimming?"

"Go ahead and get your swim suit on, there won't be anywhere to change when we get there, then I'll show you."

"Why can't you just tell me now?"

"Because, I like making you wonder where were going. Just like you used too do to me when you used to baby sit me and tell me to get ready to go somewhere but wouldn't tell me where we where going and then you would take me fun places like the zoo or the swimming pool or the fair and about every other trip we would end up at the museum and you would try to bore me to death with all that history."

"It wasn't every other trip, but it did work nicely to keep you from refusing to go when you didn't know where we would end up." Ann said smiling at him.

"Well now it's payback time so get ready to go."

Ann sighed and said. "Oh fine."

Ann changed, grabbed her beach towel and went to her living room where Lucas was waiting for her.

"So when are you going to tell me where were going?"

"You'll see when we get there. Come over here."

Ann walked over by the end of the couch where Lucas was standing and a second latter they had both been shrunk.

Ann walked over to Zoc and said. "So do you know where he's taking me?"

Zoc smiled and said. "Yes, but I was told not to tell you, he said something about revenge and driving you crazy."

"Not crazy, crazier, she's already crazy." Lucas reminded him, and then ran ahead of them into the tunnel.

They headed through a tunnel along side the stream that flowed into the nest. After walking quite a while they came to the end of the tunnel where there was a straw sticking out of the ceiling that the water was coming through.

"How do you keep the dirt around the straw from eroding and flooding the nest and where dose the water come from?" Ann asked.

"It's all held in place by magic. My father was the one who came up with the idea. Although my mother helped encourage him to find a way to get water into the nest, she was a forager and kept complaining about how much time was spent gathering water when the colony needed food. One of her friends was a scout and had gone into a humans home and came back and told her how humans had water that came into their homes so they didn't have to carry it from anywhere. As for where the water comes from, you'll see in a few minutes."

They headed up a smaller tunnel that led up into the yard. After walking for a few minutes they came out by the small pond at the side of the house.

"What are we doing here? Didn't you tell me this is where you two got eaten by a frog?" Ann asked.

"Do you remember the one time you where watching me and I was out here catching the frogs. When you asked what I was doing I told you I hated frogs and I was catching them all and taking them to the pond in the park." Lucas asked.

"Yes and I told you they would get rid of the bugs that kept eating your mothers plants. You looked at me like I was the worst person on earth and got upset and told me they would eat the good bugs to. At least now I understand why you where so upset.

Are you sure no new ones have shown up since you took them out?"

"I check at least once a week to make sure there aren't any." Lucas answered.

Ann and Lucas set their towels down and Ann took off her t-shirt and skirt that she had put on over her swimsuit. Then noticed Lucas who had started to head for the water but had stopped a few feet away from her and was smiling and looked like he was trying not to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Ann asked.

"Be careful and don't move to fast so he doesn't realize he's been caught, but Zoc is totally checking you out."

"Lucas that's ridiculous-" She stopped as she turned her head far enough to see that Zoc was staring at her from where he was standing next to a large rock where he had set his staff. "I'm sure that's not why he's staring." She said.

"Sure, believe what you want I think he likes you." Lucas said.

"We're two completely different species, there's no way, that's impossible." Ann said. Although she felt more like she was trying to convince her self instead of Lucas.

"Well you know what he would say about it being impossible." Lucas said grinning.

When she couldn't come up with a good response she turned around so she was facing Zoc and asked. "What are you staring at?" Ann had to fight back a smile when she noticed Zoc's face turning red.

"I didn't mean to stare. I'm just not used to you having legs."

Ann laughed and said. "You know people always seem to be surprised that I have legs. Anytime I would wear pants to go hiking my brother or sister would always say look she has legs or if I had my swimsuit on it would be she has half legs because of the skirt on it."

Ann had started towards the water and Lucas ran to catch up with her and whispered. "You actually believed him?"

"Of course, considering he's never seen me wear anything but skirts, none of which where shorter than just above my ankles, it's much easier to believe him than your crazy idea."

"Well I still think he likes you. Why else would he spend so much time with you?"

"Because were friends, just because he likes to spend time with me doesn't mean he likes me, not the way you think he dose." Ann said, although part of her wanted to believe he was right.

As soon as they got to the water Ann swam out towards the middle until she came to a rock that stuck up out of the water at an angle. She pulled her self up onto it just far enough that she could lay on it with her head and arms out of the water while she caught her breath before swimming back.

She watched as Zoc and Lucas went to meet another group of ants that had come to the pond, it looked like it might be Kreela and several younger ants that looked like they where talking to Lucas and then they all ran to the water. A few seconds later they snuck up behind Zoc, each carrying drops of water and then started throwing them at him, he ran to the edge of the water and started picking up handfuls of water and throwing them at the kids as they tried to get close enough to him to hit him with their own drops of water.

Ann sighed and laid her head on her arms and thought _I really am going crazy; I'm falling in love with an ant. _For the last couple of weeks she had been trying to convince herself that she wasn't falling in love with him. It was just too crazy, they where to different, but why else would she have been so disappointed when she had found out that she wouldn't get to spend the afternoon with him or when he had been able to give her a perfectly reasonable explanation about why he had been staring at her. Part of her had desperately hoped that he would have hesitated or done something to indicate that Lucas might have been right, but Zoc had told her himself that for half his life he had hated humans. How could he possibly ever fall in love with one. Ann started to doze off as she watched Zoc playing with the kids.

Ann woke up screaming as something ripped into her foot, she kicked her leg and it let go. As she struggled to get far enough up onto the rock that she would be out of the water she noticed that her back and arms hurt too. She was almost out of the water when something grabbed her again this time around her ankle, she screamed again and then took a breath as she realized it was pulling her under water and there was nothing she could do to stop it. As soon as she was under water she twisted around so she could see what had her, she was terrified when she realized it was a dragonfly larva. She had read that they sometimes caught and ate stuff as big as tadpoles and small fish and this one was definitely big enough that it could easily eat her. She struggled and tried too get to a position that she could hit its head but it still wouldn't let her go and she knew she couldn't hold her breath much longer. Just when she was sure she wasn't going to get out of this alive she saw Zoc swim up next to it and slice a deep cut into its side with one of his mandibles, it let go and Zoc grabbed Ann and headed back to shore.

As soon as the water was shallow enough he picked her up and carried her over to where she had set her stuff and set her down. Ann gasped and her stomach turned when she saw her foot, a deep cut ran around it just behind her toes from the first time she was bitten but it was the one around her ankle that scared her, it was deep and looked like it had cut clear to the bone. Zoc tore Ann's towel into several wide strips and started to wrap her foot and ankle.

Lucas came over with Zoc's staff and handed it to him. "Is she going to be ok?" He asked, frightened.

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	10. Chapter 10

I'm so sorry about how long it has been since I updated, I sent this chapter to my beta reader the same day I posted the last one and had hoped to have it up within a few days. Unfortunately my beta reader is in school and hasn't had time to read over it, so I'm going to go ahead and post it. There might be punctuation errors but I can't leave Ann bleeding to death any longer, I never would have ended the last chapter where I did if I hadn't thought I would have had this one up within a few days.

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"She should be fine as soon as I get a healing potion on her foot. Go with Kreela and play with your friends until I get her taken care of." Zoc said as he strapped his staff to his back.

Lucas said, "Ok" and went to join his friends.

Zoc picked Ann up, headed into the nest and asked. "Other than your ankle, are you ok?

"My arms, back and half of my face feel like their on fire but other than that I'm fine.

So how long was I out there before the dragonfly attacked me?" Ann asked as she looked at one of her badly sunburned arms.

"It had been about an hour since we noticed you hadn't come back and found you out on that rock, so less than an hour and a half. Obviously long enough for you to get … what did Lucas call it, sunburned?"

"That's right." Ann said, laying her head on his shoulder as she started to feel tired from the amount of blood she had lost.

She woke up as Zoc laid her down on his bed and left the room then came back a minute latter with bandages, the healing potion and a second potion.

"What's the second potion?" she asked as she sat up.

"It's a more powerful healing potion, it will sting a little at first but it'll heal your foot faster and the bleeding doesn't seem to have slowed down at all, so I want to get it healed as quickly as possible."

"Sounds good to me, it should stop hurting sooner that way too right?" Ann said, fighting back tears from the pain as Zoc started to remove the blood soaked towel from her ankle and foot.

"Yes, a little extra pain when I put it on, but it will stop hurting a lot sooner than it would have with the other potion."

As Zoc put the potion on her foot Ann gasped as pain shot through her foot and ankle. Zoc bandaged her foot; once he was done with it he got the other potion and gently started to put it on her face.

"You know I could do this my self." Ann said.

"I know, but I've been waiting three weeks for a chance like this." Zoc said smiling.

"I still can't believe you where awake the whole time." Ann said blushing.

"It's nothing to be embarrassed about, there's nothing wrong with being curious as long as you don't do anything that could get you hurt, Hova had a habit of doing that. Although as long as you're blushing the other side of your face almost matches this side." Zoc said as he brushed her hair back from her sunburned ear.

When he was done with her face and arms he had her lay down while he put the potion on her back, by the time he was done she had fallen asleep.

"Ann, please Ann you need to wakeup." Zoc said, sounding worried.

She felt too weak to do anything, but she finally opened her eyes to see Zoc kneeling next to the bed and asked. "What?"

"Your ankle hasn't stopped bleeding; I don't know enough about humans, I don't know how to get it to stop." Zoc said, sounding desperate.

Ann thought for a second and then realized what must have happened, "It could have ripped through veins or arteries, I …"

"Keep her awake." Zoc said, rushed out of the room before she could finish.

Ann turned her head to see Hope standing on the other side of the bed.

"I haven't seen him this worried in years, I think…" Hope was cut off as Zoc came back into the room with another potion.

"I usually know what I'm doing. I knew humans where backwards but I thought something as important as veins and arteries would have been protected by bone not in the muscle where it could be so easily injured and you could bleed to death." Zoc said as he took the bandages off of Ann's foot. "This will probably hurt worse than the other potion, because I'll have to get it down inside the wound."

"Are you sure it will work if the other one didn't?" Ann asked.

"It should. It's made specifically for wounds that have gone through veins or arteries; it's solider, like a soft clay instead of liquid, so the bleeding won't force it out before it has time to work. Now brace your self this is going to hurt."

Hope took Ann's hand and said. "Don't worry about squeezing to hard I'm not as easily hurt as you are."

Ann smiled and said. "He's right humans are…" Ann gasped as Zoc gently started to pull the sides of the wound on her ankle apart to put the potion in. Ann squeezed Hopes hand until her knuckles turned white and buried her face in the pillow as tears started to run down her face. When he had finished with the back of her ankle and bottom of her foot he had her roll over so he could get the front of her foot and ankle.

"I think it would have been less painful if I had just bled to death." Ann said as she turned.

"Who would help Hope in the nursery and tell me about humans then? Lucas is just a child, he can't tell me as much as you can." Zoc said.

"You could have had my collection of books. I'm sure you could have found answers to all your questions in them." Ann said.

"I would much rather have you around to talk to, but I would love to see these books sometime if you wouldn't mind."

"Remind me next time you're at the house, I'll show you where they are and you can borrow any that you want to read. Now let's get this over with, I need more sleep."

When Zoc had finished with her leg he had Spindle stay with her incase she would need anything and he and Hope left her so she could get some sleep.

Ann woke up as Zoc gently picked her up.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Lucas's parents could be home any minute. He's going to tell them you aren't feeling well and went to bed early but you need to be there incase Doreen would want to check on you."

"Ok." Ann said, wrapping her arms around Zoc's neck and laying her head on his shoulder as she fell back to sleep.

The next time Ann woke up she was in her own bed. She looked over at her nightstand and smiled when she saw Spindle sitting next to her clock. She was shock when she realized that it was already ten a.m. she had to have been sleeping for about eighteen hours.

"So if you're here does that mean Zoc's still here too?" she asked.

Spindle buzzed and nodded his head yes.

Ann gasped as she tried to get up and fell back to the bed when pain shot through her foot and ankle.

Spindle started to fly towards the door.

"Spindle its ok you don't have to get Zoc. I'm ok; I just didn't realize it would still hurt so much." Ann said, standing up again and trying to ignore the pain.

Spindle flew over to her and stayed right with her as she made her way to her dresser and closet to get clothes. After convincing Spindle he couldn't follow her in to the bathroom she quickly changed out of her swimsuit and into a comfortable skirt and t-shirt.

As she came out Spindle was still hovering right out side the door.

Ann smiled and said. "See I really am ok."

Spindle buzzed and stayed by her shoulder as she headed out of her room to see where Zoc was.

When she got to the doorway to the living room she stopped. Zoc was reclining on the couch reading one of her books; the look on his face seemed to be a combination of shock and horror. As she quietly limped closer to the couch she nearly started laughing when she saw what he was reading.

As she sat down on the end of the couch Zoc jumped, looked up at her and said. "How long have you been awake?"

"Just long enough to change cloths and come out here." Ann said, then smiled and added. "Isn't that a fascinating book?"

"Also disturbing and horrifying, some of this would probably give every male in the colony nightmares. Is it really true that colonies of normal ants are all female and when there are males their entire purpose in life is to mate once and then die?" Zoc asked.

"Yes, everything in that book is true. Aren't you glad you're not a normal ant?" Ann asked trying not to laugh at the horrified look on Zoc's face.

Zoc shuddered and said. "Yes. Lucas told me we weren't like normal ants but I never knew how different we where. Normal ants don't even have lungs; they breathe through holes in their abdomens and I don't know which is more disturbing the fact that the queens rip their own wings off and eat them or the ones the book says are honeypot ants. How can their abdomens be filled with that much food and not crush their internal organs?"

"That's a good question I don't remember ever reading anything that explained that. We can check the other books I have later, right now I'm starving." Ann said, she started to get up then gasped and squeezed her eyes shut for a second as pain shot through her ankle. When she opened her eyes Zoc was at her side.

"There's no way your ankle has healed enough for you to be standing on it. What are you doing?"

"I was just going to the kitchen to get something to eat."

"You shouldn't be walking that far."

"How else am I going to get there?"

"I'll carry you." Zoc said, picking her up

"Well you may be a lot different from normal ants, but you definitely still have the strength of one." Ann said, amazed at how easily he had picked her up.

Zoc carried her out to the kitchen and set her in one of the chairs at the table then had her tell him what she wanted to eat and how to make it.

Zoc stayed with her the rest of the day. Lucas came to check on her once but other than that she and Zoc spent the day together talking and she taught him to play some of the games that she had found in her family's stuff. By the end of the day Ann was beginning too think that getting to spend the whole day with him was worth the pain she had been in.

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	11. Chapter 11

Thanks to supergeek17 offering to beta read my story, this chapter got posted a lot sooner than it would have been and the next one should be up sooner too.

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Luckily, by the next day Ann's foot and ankle had fully healed, so she didn't have any problem going to work.

When she got to the shop, she thought it would be another long day of hoping someone might come in. That afternoon, Elnora had gone up to her apartment above the shop to take a nap, while Ann watched the shop. Ann was going over some of the records she had gotten to try to find out where the antique shop was that had burned down. She had enough to know where the building had been and that it was large enough that it had covered the Nickle's property, as well as the one next to it, which was on the other side of the pond. But she hadn't been able to find anything that told where in the building the safe had been. It was a huge safe and had to have been put in when the building had been built, but none of the records she had been able to find mentioned it. She was rereading the book and newspaper articles that mentioned the shop, wondering if she had missed something when a man came into the shop.

He walked up to the counter, set down a large box and said, "A friend of mine told me you buy old stuff. I know this stuff isn't that old compared to some of the stuff you got here-- it's from the fifty's and sixty's-- but it was my stepmother's, so I don't really have any reason to keep it. I was going to just put it out with the trash, but I decided not to because of how old it was."

Ann smiled and said, "Telling me you where going to throw it out probably isn't the best way to get a good price out of the stuff."

"I don't really care," the man said. "I'd be happy if I can get twenty bucks for it. It belonged to my stepmother's uncle who died back in the sixties and most of it is just letters he wrote to her and some stuff from his business."

"Well, I can take a look and see if there's anything that I can buy from you," Ann said.

She opened the box and started to look through the piles of letters and stuff, although she knew it was newer than the stuff Elnora would normally sell in the shop. She was about to tell the man they couldn't sell any of it when she noticed the name Teagarden Solomon Debolt on one of the letters, which was the name of the man who had owned the antique shop.

"Well, I don't know if we can resell it here, but as old as it is, I think its worth making sure it's properly preserved. You said you wanted twenty dollars for it?" Ann asked.

"Yeah, that would be great," the man said. "My friend said I probably couldn't get a buck for it."

Ann pulled a twenty out of her purse, handed it to him and said, "You just have to be able to find the right buyer. Thank you for bringing it in."

"Well I'm glad you could take it," the man said before leaving.

As soon as he was gone, Ann dropped into her chair. Her heart was pounding as she started to carefully read every letter in the box, praying that something would mention the location of the safe. After an hour of reading letters, the only thing of interest she had found was a letter where Mr. Debolt had told his sister that he had gotten an old desk from the seventeen hundreds and had found a secret compartment in it that had a letter that had been written by George Washington. He was going to find out if it was authentic the next week, but the letter had been written two days before the shop had burned down; Ann could only assume it was never authenticated. Although the thought that something that old and important could be in the safe made Ann want to find it even more, she, unfortunately, had found nothing mentioning where in the shop the safe was. She had just about given up hope that there would be anything in the box that would help her find the safe when she pulled out a large folded paper. She carefully unfolded it and let out an exited scream of joy when she realized it was the blue prints of the shop and right in the middle of the top floor it showed the safe.  
A few seconds later Elnora came in and said. "What are you screaming about?"

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," Ann said sheepishly.

"Don't be ridiculous," Elnora said. "If I had been asleep upstairs, it would have taken me more than a few minutes to get down the stairs. I was already coming down. Now what has you so excited?"

Ann told her about the antique shop that had burned and that she thought the safe might still be buried on the property.

Elnora shook her head and said, "You just wasted twenty dollars on that stuff. I remember when that place burned down. They called my husband and I in to see if any of the stuff was worth saving. Everything was destroyed; Mr. Debolt had an amazing collection of seventeenth century swords they where almost completely melted; the only reason we could tell what they had been was because they had fallen onto the ground before they melted, so we could tell they had been shaped like swords. That was the only thing that was still recognizable after the fire. From what I was told, the safe was at least seven feet square; if it had still been there, someone would have seen it. It was probably destroyed when the gas tank at the back of the store exploded."

"What if the explosion didn't destroy it and it sunk into the mud in the basement? According to the blue prints, the safe was on the top floor. If it fell that far into the mud that could have forced it into the ground."

"I suppose that might be possible," Elnora mused. "We also had a lot more rain than usual that year. I talked to Mr. Debolt a few days before the fire and he said that his basement had flooded; the dirt floor would have already been muddy from that, plus the water from the fire fighters. Now what I want to know is what you're not telling me.

"What are you talking about?" Ann asked, trying not to sound nervous.

"Ann I've always been good at telling what people are thinking or when they are trying to hide something from me," Elnora informed her, "and after ninety years of experience, that ability just keeps getting better. I'm guessing there's someone else involved with this and they're giving you some of your information."

Ann sighed and said, "A friend of mine said that his father told him about it, that he saw the safe fall and sink into the mud."

Elnora looked like she was going to ask something else then changed her mind. "Alright, a treasure hunt sounds like fun; let's see what all you have here," she said as she started to look at the pile of records Ann had.

"You want to help?" Ann asked a little shocked at how fast she seemed to have changed her mind about the safe possibly still being there.

"Ann, I'm ninety-five years old," Elnora announced. "I'm not going to have many more chances to do something like this. One of my favorite things about running an antique shop has always been when people asked me to come in to the homes of their family members who were going into nursing homes or had passed away, to see what could be sold. It was always exiting seeing what people had stuffed away in their attics or basements. That's one of the things I miss most, since I've gotten to old to handle the amount of work it takes. If you'll promise me I get to be there when you open the safe-- if you find it-- I'll do everything I can to help.  
"Besides, if you do find it, then it will end up in all the newspapers. If you tell them that I helped you find it, maybe that will get more people to come in to the shop."

Ann smiled and said, "That sound like a wonderful idea. Let's get started."

After spending half an hour going over the blue prints and other property records, Ann groaned and said, "Please tell me I lined this up wrong."

Elnora looked at the papers Ann was working with. One was of where the Nickle's house and the neighbor's house were; the other was a copy of the blue prints that Ann had made on tracing paper so she could line it up over the other one.

"Everything looks right to me-- the scale matches and your tracing matches the original. What's wrong?" Elnora asked.

"The safe was directly over where the current property line is," Ann explained. "If it fell straight down, it would be half on the Nickle's property and half on the neighbors'. The gas tank was at the back right corner of the store. If the explosion affected the way the safe fell, it could be completely on the neighbor's property."

"Wasn't that house for sale?" Elnora asked

"Yes," Ann replied.

"You could buy it, then you wouldn't have to worry about who owns the land," Elnora suggested.

"I couldn't afford it," Ann said. "The money I have saved up probably wouldn't even be enough for a down payment. If the safe was damaged and the stuff in it ruined, I would have no way to continue paying for the house."

"Well then I guess the only thing I can do is give you a raise," Elnora announced.

"What?" Ann asked in disbelief. "I haven't even worked for you a full month yet. Why would you give me a raise?"

"Consider it a business investment," Elnora replied. "I'll put the extra money in to a savings account for you and when there's enough, you can buy the house. It's a nice neighbor hood, but it still takes time to find a buyer. Hopefully, you'll have enough before anyone else buys it. Then when you find the safe, we can set up some display cases here with some of the stuff out of it. If the letter Mr. Debolt mentioned to his sister is in there, it's authentic and we can put it on display here until you sell it. I could have people from all over the country coming in to see it and hopefully buying stuff while they're here. So do we have a deal?"

Ann hugged her and smiling said, "Definitely! I don't know how I will ever be able to thank you enough for this."

"Don't worry about it," Elnora dismissed. "You're the closest thing to family I've got. All of my friends are either dead or in nursing homes and both of my daughters died young-- one was seventeen and the other was twenty-two. I guess I've started to think of you more as a daughter than just an employee."

Ann smiled and said, "Good, because I was beginning to think of you more as a grandmother than an employer."

Elnora smiled. "Well then, I guess we'll just have to adopt each other, although that would mean you have to come over for Thanksgiving and Christmas." She sighed and said, "That'll be the hardest time for you, your first Christmas without your family. That first Christmas after Elmer died seemed harder to get through than the first few weeks after he died… Well, it seems we're both in need of a family." Elnora wiped a tear from her eye.

Ann took her hand and said, "Then it's a good thing we found each other, and I would be happy to spend the holidays with you."

Elnora smiled and said, "Good, I'm glad. Now that that's settled, I have some paper work I need to go take care of." With that, she went into her office.

When Ann got home, Lucas was sitting in the living room playing a video game.

"Turn that off and come down to the basement," Ann told him as she headed to the basement.

"Why? Can't whatever you need wait until I'm done with this?" Lucas asked, not looking away from the screen.

"No," Ann answered. "If you aren't down there by the time Zoc gets here, you just won't get to hear about where the safe should be."

Lucas dropped the controls, jumped up and asked, "You mean the one Zoc's dad saw, the one you said could have millions of dollars worth of stuff in it? I thought you said you had checked every record you could think of and couldn't find it."

"Yes, that safe," Ann patiently explained. "I got some new information today. I'll tell you about it after I call Zoc, so I can tell you both at the same time."

"I'll go ahead and call him," Lucas said as he raced down to the basement ahead of Ann.

When Zoc arrived, they sat in a circle on the floor. Ann laid out the records, showing them what she had found, and told them about the plan Elnora had come up with.

"So we can't even find out if it's there? Until you can buy the house, if no one else buys it first?" Lucas asked, disappointed.

"Yeah," Ann said with regret. "I know its frustrating knowing where it should be but not being able to find out if it's there. But we're one step closer to finding."

Zoc took a closer look at current property layout and the tracing Ann had mad of the blue prints then asked. "So if the safe is still there it should be about fifteen feet strait through this wall?"

"Depending on how far it sunk into the mud, it should be, if the explosion didn't affect the way it fell too much." Ann said.

Zoc took his staff and laid it on the floor so that the crystal pointed toward the wall then a stream of green light shot out of it and through the wall. After a minute sparks flew back out of the hole. Zoc turned to face Ann and Lucas, smiled and said. "Well there's something other than dirt and rock out there."

"Can we go see what it is?" Lucas asked.

"Of course." Zoc said.

"Excellent, lets go." Lucas said running over by the hole.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Ann said.

"What?" Lucas asked.

"Your parents could be home any minute. Go tell your grandma that we're going for a walk, so she can tell your parents when they get home and want to know where you are."

"Alright." Lucas said then ran upstairs.

When Lucas got back Zoc shrunk them and they headed into the tunnel Zoc had made. Even with the light from Zoc's staff and Spindle they could only see a few feet in front of them.

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea." Lucas said sounding nervous.

"Don't worry the only difference between this and the tunnels in the nest are the crystals that are used to light the nest. But if you want I could take you back to the house." Zoc said.

"No, I'll be fine." Lucas said, as Spindle flew over by him.

After a while the walls of the tunnel changed from solid dirt to stone for several feet then into a mixture of dirt and what looked like ash and burned wood.

"Well it looks like we're probably inside what's left of the basement of the antique shop. After the fire they probably pushed most of the debris into the basement then buried it." Ann said looking at the walls.

At the end of the tunnel was a wall of metal.

"So how do we find out if this is the safe and where under the yard we are?" Ann asked.

"Stand back a minute." Zoc said.

Ann and Lucas stepped back and Zoc blasted another tunnel straight up.

"Spindle stay with Ann and Lucas, I'll be right back." Zoc said, and then headed up the tunnel.

After a few minutes he came back and said. "We're directly under the bushes that separate the properties."

"So what about finding out if this really is the safe?" Lucas asked.

"I don't know about finding out for sure, but we should be able to at least get an idea of how big it is." Zoc said as he started to blast another tunnel along the side of it.

After going around the whole thing they were sure that it had to be the safe.

"So how long do you think it will take you to have enough money to by the house next door?" Lucas asked.

"I don't know Elnora didn't say how much extra she was going to pay me. It may take a while though, because school starts next week and I'll only be working after school. I just hope no one else buys it first." Ann said.

When they got back to the house Zoc asked. "So how is your ankle doing?"

"It hasn't hurt at all since I woke up this morning." Ann said.

"So are you up to helping in the nursery?" Zoc asked.

Ann smiled and said, "Of course I am."

"Good," Zoc sighed. "Then you can tell Hope yourself that you are fine. I've lost count of how many times she's asked me if I was sure you were okay when I left you last night."

"Well, then, we shouldn't let her worry any longer," Ann said. She turned to Lucas and added, "If your mom asks where I am, tell her I decided to go for a longer walk and you came back without me."

Lucas agreed, and Zoc returned him to his normal size, and then they headed into the nest. When they got to the nursery Hope ran over to Ann and asked, "How's your ankle? Are you sure you should be walking on it? I can't believe he left you before it had fully healed."

"Hope, I'm fine," Ann reassured with a smile. "My ankle was just a little sore when he left last night and by this morning, I couldn't even tell it had been hurt."

"I tried to tell her the healing potions would heal you just as fast as they heal us and that you would be fine by the time you woke up this morning," Zoc explained. "She just doesn't trust me."

Hope grinned and said, "You're my brother-- why would I trust you? Anyway, she's like a sister to me; I have to worry about her." She looked at Ann and asked, "You wouldn't mind having an ant for a sister, would you?"

"I can't think of anyone else I would rather have as a sister," Ann said, smiling sincerely. "This is defiantly turning out to be a good day-- first a new grandmother and now a sister."

"A grandmother?" Hope asked.

Ann told Hope about Elnora and everything that had happened that day.

The next day, Ann was just heading upstairs to leave for work when Lucas nearly ran into her as she came out of the basement and said, "Someone bought it! Someone bought the house next door!"

"Are you sure?" Ann asked, hoping he was wrong.

"There's a guy out there right now putting up a sold sign."

Ann and Lucas quickly went out front to look. Ann's heart sank when she saw that Lucas had been right.

"What do we do now?" Lucas asked. "Do you think we should tell the new owners about the treasure and just split it with them?"

"I don't know," Ann admitted. "The safe is mostly on the other property. You never know how people will react with something that valuable-- they could try to take it all. I wouldn't want this to end up in some legal battle over who should get it. For now, I don't think we should mention it to anyone. Just wait and see what the new owners are like and then decide what to do. We'll have to worry about it later; I have to get to work."

"Okay," Lucas said, sounding disappointed.

Ann laid a reassuring hand on Lucas's shoulder. "Don't worry we'll think of something."

* * *

Believe it or not Teagarden Solomon Debolt is a real name; he was my Great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather's brother.

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	12. Chapter 12

The next week, Ann went back to college. When she got home after the first day, she sat down on her couch sideways with her back against the arm so she could spread her stuff out on the couch in front of her. She was reading over the information for a school trip when a hand grabbed her shoulder.

She jumped and demanded, "What do you think you're doing sneaking up--" Ann gasped when she turned far enough to see Zoc; he was covered in mud and looked exhausted.

Ann jumped up and asked, "Are you alright? What happened?"

"I'm fine," Zoc assured, waving Ann's words away, "but the rain last night weakened one of the tunnels. The workers were reinforcing it when the whole thing caved in. The tunnel led to one of the sleeping chambers, and there where a few hundred ants in there. Everyone who can help is, but with the number of ants trapped and injured; we could use some extra help. The council asked me to come see if you and Lucas might be able to help."

"Lucas and his family went out for the evening, but I can help, just let me change," Ann said. Quickly, she changed into a pair of jeans and grabbed a ponytail holder.

As she came out of her room, Zoc smiled and said, "You actually wear pants like a normal human?" Before she could answer, he shrunk them and they headed into the tunnel.

"Only when I have to," Ann replied without missing a beat as she started to braid her hair.

"As dirty as you are, I wouldn't want to ruin my skirt while helping you."

When they got to the chamber that the collapsed tunnel connected to, Zoc pointed to a group of nurse ants that were taking care of the injured ants being brought out of the tunnel. "Hope is over there, she'll tell you what to do," he said.

"Where will you be?" Ann asked.

"I'll be helping dig out the tunnel," Zoc told her. "I want you to stay out here-- you're not to be _anywhere_ near the tunnel."

"Why not?" Ann asked worriedly. "What if they need help bringing out the ants that were trapped in there?"

"There will be plenty of ants to bring the injured out," Zoc explained. "The dirt is still wet; it could cave in again and I don't want you where you could get hurt."

"Alright," Ann relented, "but be careful in there. If it does cave in, I'm coming in after you."

Zoc smiled, "Don't worry-- if anything happens to me, Hope knows where the potion to make you big again is. Now we have work to do." With those final words, he headed towards the tunnel.

Ann watched him for a second and thought, _That's not why I'd be coming after you. _Putting the thought in the back of her mind, she headed over to where Hope and several of the ants she had worked with in the nursery were.

Hope and the others quickly taught Ann how to tell how severe an injury was and how to treat it.

After a few hours, the tunnel had been dug out and one of the workers came by to tell them that part of the sleeping chamber's ceiling had collapsed, and that they should be prepared for a lot more patients coming out soon. Ann and Hope were sent to get more healing potions while others were sent to get more bandages, water and anything else they might need.

When they got back some of the ants had brought bowls full of drops of honeydew. Hope grabbed two and handed one to Ann, commanding, "Drink it." Ann made a face like she really didn't want it. "The sugar in it will help keep you awake. With more patients to take care of, you'll need the energy." Ann groaned but drank the honeydew.

Hope smiled. "Good. Now we have work to do," she said as the first few ants were brought out from the sleeping chamber.

After several more hours of taking care of injured ants, Ann was exhausted, covered in mud and had decided she didn't care where the honeydew came from as long as it kept her awake. She had to admit it tasted better than the Pepsi she would normally drink if she needed something to keep her awake.

Finally, one of the workers told them that they thought everyone had been found, they had one more small area to search, but there was no sign that anyone else was buried in there.

The nurses cleaned things up and then most of them left. Ann and Hope stayed, as well as Lilly and Mayriella (usually answering to May), who where usually around when Ann helped in the nursery. All four sat down along the wall where they could see if any more injured ants where brought out and watch as the other ants carried dirt and rocks out of the tunnel.

"This is perfect," May informed Ann. "Most of the guys that we're always talking about are working down here. We can point them out to you so you'll know who we're talking about." May was constantly talking about who the best looking or most influential males in the colony were.

Ann smiled and asked, "Do you ever talk about anything else?"

"No," Hope and Lilly both said at the same time.

May crossed her arms, pouting, and whined, "Well, if Hope would convince her brother to date me, I would have to find something else to talk about."

"I told you he's not interested," Hope said, exasperated.

"What you told me was he wasn't ready to start dating again, that he was still recovering from losing Hova," May shot back. "That was five month ago; she died almost two years ago-- he's got to move on someday."

Lilly said, "You might be wasting your time, May. He was so in love with Hova, he may never move on. We've all heard about the frog incident and the wasps and--"

"Wasps?" May asked.

"I forgot-- it was your day off when Hova told us about that," Lilly said. "Hova told us, that Kreela told her the day that the wasps attacked while Lucas was staying with the colony, a wasp was about to kill Kreela and Zoc stopped it just in time. He's fighting this huge wasp and he asked Kreela where Hova was. Can you _imagine _being in a situation where you could be killed any second and thinking about anything other than how you're going to survive?"

May sighed, "Wouldn't it be nice to be that in love?"

"Yes it would," Lilly agreed, "but you should stop wasting your time hoping that Zoc will change his mind. There are plenty of others to choose from."

May started to answer her but Ann stopped paying attention to what she was saying when she saw Zoc come out of the tunnel carrying a rock that had to be as big as he was. It still amazed her how strong he was, and yet he'd been so gentle when he had been taking care of her when she had been hurt.

May cleared her throat, making Ann jump. Ann looked over and realized all three ants were staring at her. "Looks like I have some competition," May said, grinning.

"What are you talking about?" Ann asked.

"Oh, just you sitting there so totally distracted watching Zoc that you didn't realize we have been trying to talk to you for about a minute," May replied casually.

"I –"Ann started to say, her face turning a brilliant shade of red when she couldn't come up with any good excuses.

"It's okay-- I don't mind sharing," May said with a smile. "If I can't have him I'd love to see one of my friends get him."

"Do you like him?" Hope asked. When Ann didn't answer right away, she gently added, "We promise we won't tell anyone."

May and Lilly both agreed. Ann groaned, "All right-- yes, I like him," she admitted. Ann was a little surprised when Hope started grinning.

"That would be perfect if you two were to get married-- then we really would be sisters," Hope said.

Ann looked at her like she was crazy. "Hope, I'm a human-- there's no way he'd be interested in me; it's impossible. We're two completely different species, it would never work out."

"But you like him right?" Hope pointed out. "Oh, and if you are going to date a wizard you're not allowed to use the word 'impossible' any more."

"Yes, I like him, but I also realize that we can never be more than friends," Ann rebutted. "Besides, he's hated humans most of his life-- how could he possibly fall in love with one?"

"You know, she's right, Hope-- it is crazy," Lilly pointed out.

"You're not helping," Hope groaned. "I just think she should tell him how she feels."

"We're about to get yelled at for sitting down on the job," May said suddenly. They all looked and saw the head nurse walking towards them.

"We've been working all night-- why wouldn't we be aloud to sit down?" Ann asked.

"Because the head nurse is always grouchy," May explained.

"Or, as Hova put it when she first started working in the hatching chambers, 'an emotionless tyrant.'" Hope added.

"She's very strict about how things are done," Lilly chimed in. They all stood up as she came towards them.

The head nurse stopped in front of Ann and said authoritatively, "I've been watching you since you got here. You have taken care of dozens of patients with a wide range of injuries and quickly learned how to treat them without assistance from the other nurses and you have a natural talent taking care of the pupas in the nursery. I think it's time we make your status as a nurse official." She placed a string with a small clear iridescent crystal on it around Ann's neck. "Now, you four get some rest, but make sure at least one of you is awake so you can wake the others if anyone else is hurt." With that, she left the group.

Ann turned to look at the others; they all had their mouths hanging slightly open. "So what exactly just happened?" Ann asked, looking at the crystal.

They all started smiling. "When each ant completes their training, they're given a crystal; each occupation has a different color. We usually only wear them for special occasions. This makes it official-- you're one of us now!" Hope said excitedly, hugging Ann.

Lilly and May congratulated Ann as they all sat back down. Hope said, "She was right. We need to get some rest. I'll take the first watch while you three get some sleep." The other three leaned back against the wall and Ann dozed off within minutes.

Later, Ann woke up to the feeling of someone taking her shoes off. She opened her eyes and realized that she was in her own bed, and Zoc was sitting on the end of the bed gently taking her shoes off of her feet. When he turned around to cover her with her quilt, she was shocked: she had never seen him look so exhausted; he looked like he could barely keep his eyes open. She glanced at her clock and realized it was already four in the morning. She wasn't sure what time the tunnel had collapsed, but she was sure he had to have been helping clear it out for at least twelve hours.

When Zoc realized Ann was awake he said quietly, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's okay," Ann dismissed. "Are you going to make it back to the nest? You look about ready to pass out."

"I don't know," Zoc answered. "Would you mind if I slept on the couch for awhile?"

"I would never get the mud off of it," she said before sliding to the back of the bed. "But sheets can be cleaned easily enough."

"Are you sure you don't mind?" Zoc asked, wary.

"I didn't try to squish you last time I woke up with you in my bed did I?" Ann asked, slightly amused. "Just make sure you fix any holes you leave in the bed before you go." She started to fall back to sleep.

When Ann woke up, she was laying with her head on Zoc's chest. She didn't remember moving there, but she was perfectly content to stay where she was. Not that she could have moved without waking Zoc. Her left hand was resting on his chest and he had his right hand over her left; his other arm was wrapped around her. She knew she would be at least a little embarrassed when he woke up, but there was nothing she could do about that-- if she tried to move he would wake up, so all she could do was lay there and enjoy being in his arms until he woke up. She had just started to fall back to sleep when someone knocked on her door.

"Who is it?" she asked, not bothering to open her eyes yet. She felt Zoc move his arm and hand. Ann decided she really wanted to hurt whoever was on the other side of the door for waking him. She really wasn't ready to wake up yet, and didn't want Zoc to leave.

"Are you dressed yet?" Lucas asked from the other side of the door.

"Yes. Why?" Ann asked.

"Because you left a note in my room saying that you needed to talk t--" Lucas stopped as he opened the door and saw them.

Ann quickly sat up and said, "I said I was dressed, not that you could come in."

"Okay, I'll remember that next time," Lucas said. "Why are you two covered in mud and why are you in bed together? Wait-- forget the second one, 'cause I don't want to know."

Ann grabbed a hand full of partially dried mud from Zoc's arm and threw it at Lucas, saying, "Make sure the basement door is locked, you little monster!" Lucas pulled the door shut as the mud flew towards him and then ran to lock the door.

Ann collapsed back onto Zoc, leaning her forehead against his chest and whispered, "Can I just hurt him?"

"Unfortunately, no," Zoc replied, "and if we're still like this when he gets back, he'll probably keep harassing us about it."

Ann sat up, blushing, and said, "As if waking up like that wasn't embarrassing enough. Now Lucas will probably be harassing us about it for weeks."

"Don't be embarrassed," Zoc gently told her. "You can't control what you do when you're asleep, unless you were just ignoring me when I asked you what you were doing. You were out cold and had no idea what you were doing.

"You're probably right about Lucas, but if he gets too annoying, we can always threaten to feed him to a frog. That usually works to get him to do what you want," Zoc said, smiling, as he sat up and leaned back against the headboard.

There was another knock at the door and Lucas called, "Are you two doing anything I shouldn't see, or can I come back in?"

"That's it-- forget it, I just won't tell you if I find out anything about the lab," Ann called back.

Lucas ran into the room and asked, "The lab that was here before the house? What about it? What did you find?"

"Nothing yet, but in three weeks, my class is going on a one-week field trip to Washington DC. I thought I could look for information about it while I'm there."

"But if they don't want anyone to know about it, wouldn't they have the records hidden?" Lucas asked.

"Possibly," Ann answered. "But I can always snoop around a bit and see if the records are kept somewhere that I can find someway to sneak into if I have to."

"What if you get caught?" Lucas asked, sounding more than a little worried. "Mommo says that the government might lock people up or kill them if they find out too much about stuff the government doesn't want people to know about."

"I'm sure I'll be fine," Ann assured, waving away the warning. "If I do get caught, I can tell them I got lost or something and didn't know where I was."

"It sounds to dangerous to me," Zoc cut in. "If the records you are looking for aren't where you can look at them without risking getting in to trouble, you should just forget about them."

"I'll be fine," Ann assured a second time. "If they have too tight of security, I won't even be able to look for them-- it just depends on where they are kept. But I _am_ going to try to find out where they are and try to get a look at them, even if it means doing a little sneaking around."

"Then I'm going with you," Zoc announced.

"What? What about the colony?" Ann asked in disbelief. "I'm going to be gone for a week. What if they need you?"

"I have a large supply of all the potions they might need," Zoc informed her. "Hope and a few others know how to use them. I'll have to make more of the healing potions to replace the ones used last night, but that will only take a few days, and you said you won't be leaving for a few weeks-- I'll have time to make sure the colony has everything they might need before we leave. Besides, someone has to make sure you don't get yourself killed." Zoc looked Ann directly in the eyes as he said this.

Ann sighed and asked, "There's no way I'm going to be able too talk you out of this, is there?"

"No," Zoc deadpanned.

Ann sighed. "Fine-- you can come," she relented.

"Well, now that that's settled, why are you two covered in mud?" Lucas asked. Ann and Zoc told him about the tunnel collapsing, and why Zoc had stayed.

"Sure, I believe you," Lucas said sarcastically, "But you forgot to come up with an excuse for why you had your arms wrapped around each other when I came in."

"I had nothing to do with that," Zoc defended. "She just rolled over and decided to use me for a pillow. Although, honestly, she was asleep when she did it, so I don't think she had any idea what she was doing."

"Whatever you say," Lucas replied. "I have to go get ready for school, and Ann should, too, so you two shouldn't spend too long making out after I leave."

"Can't I just call in sick or something? I'm too tired to go…" Ann whined, trying to ignore Lucas's comment.

"Why? So you and Zoc can stay in bed together all day?" Lucas asked sarcastically.

"If I didn't have to figure out how to get this mud off of me and _still _be to school in less than forty minutes, I would _sooo _hurt you," Ann announced, glaring at Lucas as she got off of the bed. She groaned when she saw a trail of muddy footprints that went from her door to her bed. "I suppose that goes all the way out to the tunnel entrance?"

"Yep," Lucas answered.

Ann groaned. "Make sure you lock the door when you go back upstairs-- I don't want your mother asking why there is mud all over the floor and bed. I'll have to deal with it when I get home," she said as she headed into the bathroom to take a shower in hopes of getting most of the mud off.

When she came out of the bathroom thirty minutes later, she was surprised to find all of the mud cleaned up and all but the comforter taken off of the bed; she could hear the washer running. Zoc was lying on the bed, on top of the comforter, and looked like she had woken him when she came out. "Did you clean this all up?" she asked.

"Lucas showed me how to use the washer and vacuum," Zoc explained. "It's amazing some of the things you humans have come up with. As soon as he showed me he left." Zoc started to get up.

"Thank you," Ann said sincerely. "You don't have to get up. You can stay and get some more sleep-- I'm sure you need it, and it'll be quieter here than in the nest. Oh, and when you do get up, you can try out another human invention if you want: the shower works pretty much the same as the kitchen sink, just pull up on the knob on the faucet." Ann set a dry towel on the corner of the bed.

"Okay," Zoc replied, already starting to fall back to sleep.

Ann quietly left the room thinking, _A man who cleans without being asked. Just what I need another detail to make him seem even more perfect. _The whole situation was really starting to drive her crazy: a part of her desperately wanted to believe there was a chance Zoc might feel the same way, and that she should just tell him how she felt; however, she was sure that that _wasn't _possible, and that she would just have to be content with spending as much time as possible with him, and hoping for more times when she could be in his arms like that morning, or out flying on the wasps. He had offered to teach her to fly without him, so they could each have their own wasp when they went out flying, but she had told him she would be too afraid of falling, although the truth was she would miss the chance to be so close to him and have his arm around her.

Sighing and feeling more confused than ever, she grabbed a granola bar and a glass of milk for breakfast, picked up her backpack and left.

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	13. Chapter 13

It was the day before Ann was to leave for Washington. She had pulled out her dresser drawers and set them out on her bed after deciding that it would be easier than going back and forth to her dresser to pack.

Her hands were shaking as she packed; she was scared to death that something would go wrong. Zoc had made her a headband that had a rose on it that would rest just above her ear. Zoc would be able to stay inside of the rose, fold one of the inner petals in and magically seal it so he wouldn't be able to fall out. But that didn't stop her from worrying she had had nightmares where the headband had been knocked off of her at the airport and been stepped on before she could get to it; there were also ones where she left Zoc at the hotel and he had shrunk to his normal size and when the maid came in, she saw him and killed him.

Luckily, working out the hotel arrangements had been fairly easy: there where only five women in her class, and she had made sure she was the first to offer to be the one who would have to pay full price for the room instead of splitting the cost with one of the others. The hardest part had been coming up with an excuse for why she wanted a room with two beds. She'd told her teacher that her best friend from high school went to college in Washington and she wanted to invite her over for a night, because they hadn't gotten to see each other for over a year. Only part of it was a lie: her best friend really was there and she did plan on visiting her; she just wasn't going to have her come to the hotel.

Ann kept running everything through her head that could possibly go wrong and how to avoid it. She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she jumped when someone knocked on her bedroom door.

"Come in," she called, taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm her nerves.

"Are you sure I should? Zoc's not in there with you, is he?" Lucas asked from the other side of the door.

Ann groaned. The longest Lucas had gone with out harassing her about finding her and Zoc in bed together was three solid days. Every time she thought he had gotten tired of harassing her, he would start up again. After the first week, he had stopped doing it when Zoc was around, strictly because Zoc had actually threatened to feed him to a frog. When Zoc had told her, they could tell him that, Ann had thought he had been joking, but it had worked. At least as long as Zoc was around. She had tried to ignore Lucas's comments, but that did little (if anything) to stop him. Hope hadn't been much better: every time she saw Hope, and Zoc wasn't around, she would try to convince her to tell Zoc about how she felt. It was driving her crazy. She knew she had to try something different from how she normally reacted to Lucas's harassing. Maybe she could… Ann was struck with a brilliant idea that she had to test.

"It's okay, you can come in—we're just in here kissing," Ann announced nonchalantly.

"What?!" Lucas exclaimed as he pushed open the door, a look of shock on his face.

Ann burst out laughing when she saw his face. After her laughter had died down enough for her to speak, she said, "You actually believed me? I'm getting sick of your constant harassing, but the look on your face almost makes it worth putting up with."

Lucas glared at her for a second, then asked, "What are you doing?"

"Packing," Ann replied. "I have to be ready to leave first thing tomorrow morning."

Lucas walked over to her bed and started to dig through one of her drawers.

"What do you think you're doing?" Ann demanded, just as shocked as Lucas had been a few minutes ago.

He pulled a few of her nightgowns out of the drawer and said, "Even your nightgowns look like there a few hundred years out of date. Do you ever wear anything from this century?"

"Only if I have to," Ann shot back sarcastically. "Now, again: what do you think you're doing going through my drawers?"

Lucas smiled and pulled out a sleeveless satin forest green nightgown. The neckline was slightly lower than what Ann normally wore, but still modest, and the bottom would come to just below her knees when she put it on. "I just thought I would help you decide what to take with you," Lucas said, grinning almost evilly.

"Why on earth would I want to take that?" Ann asked, raising an eyebrow. "It's fall—that's a summer nightgown and it will be a lot cooler in Washington than it is here."

"Don't you want to take something sexy along to wear while you and Zoc are in that hotel room together? Alone?" Lucas asked mischievously. "I'll bet he would—" Lucas stopped short, looking like he had been caught doing something that he clearly shouldn't. There was a sudden flash of light and he disappeared. Ann quickly turned around and saw Zoc standing in the doorway.

"Still harassing you?" Zoc asked as opposed to saying "hello."

"Constantly," Ann replied, understanding Zoc's unspoken greeting. "Where is he?"

Zoc calmly walked over to the side of the bed where Lucas had been and knelt. "He's right there," he said, pointing to the floor.

Ann knelt next to Zoc. She could see Lucas walking around and looking very annoyed. It looked like he was saying something, but she couldn't hear him. "Well, at least we can't hear what he's saying," Ann sighed.

"You can't hear him?" Zoc asked, almost disbelieving.

"No," Ann answered. "You can?"

"This close I can," Zoc explained. "I guess antennae must pick up sound better than—" Zoc stopped suddenly, turning his attention back to Lucas. "You wouldn't dare," he said very, very seriously to Lucas, who just crossed his arms and stared up at Zoc.

Ann was about to ask what he had said when Zoc stood up. She quickly stepped back as Zoc aimed his staff at Lucas and returned him to his normal size.

"What did you say to him?" Ann asked Lucas.

Lucas grinned and said, "Nothing, really. I just told him that if he didn't turn me back, I would tell my friends about you two being in bed together and they would probably tell their parents, and that by the time you two got back from Washington the whole colony would probably know, so you two had better be nice to me."

"Or we could just find a frog and shrink you again," Zoc observed coolly. "Then we wouldn't have to worry about you harassing us or telling anyone."

"You wouldn't really do that would you?" Lucas asked taking a few steps towards the door.

"Keep harassing Ann and you'll find out," Zoc half-said, half-threatened.

"All right, all right I'll stop-- I promise," Lucas said before running out of the room.

Zoc smiled as he watched Lucas run off, then said, "Well, hopefully that'll keep him from harassing you until we leave."

Ann sighed, "Good, I don't need anymore stress right now."

"What has you so stressed?" Zoc asked, sounding concerned.

"It's just this whole trip; I keep worrying that something will go wrong," Ann said. She considered telling him about her nightmares, but she wasn't sure she was comfortable telling him that she had been dreaming about him.

"And what are you worrying about that you're not telling me?" Zoc asked.

"Why would you think I wasn't telling you something?" Ann sputtered, color rushing into her face.

Zoc smiled and said, "Because you looked like you were going to say something else, but decided not to."

Giving in, Ann told him about her nightmares. When she had finished, Zoc assured, "Don't worry, I'll be fine. Should anyone come into the hotel room, I'll stay out of sight until I'm sure they're gone. As for your other nightmare, it can be avoided easily enough, even though it wasn't something I had thought of." He looked around the room and, spying a vase, took it off of a shelf and shrunk it to about half an inch in size and put it inside of the rose on the headband. His staff glowed for a second, sealing the vase inside the rose, then he dropped the headband on the floor and ordered, "Step on it. Hard."

"But that's my great-great-grandmother's vase," Ann weakly protested

"Trust me," Zoc replied.

Ann hesitated a moment, then, wincing, brought her foot down on top of it. As she moved her foot off of the headband, Zoc picked it up, opened the rose, and took out the vase. Quickly, he returned it to its proper size and handed it to Ann.

"I can make the petals around where I'll be hard enough that, unless you run over it with the plane, I should be fine," Zoc explained.

"Great—now I'm going to have nightmares about you being run over by a 747," Ann groaned as she put the vase back.

Zoc gently laid his hand on Ann's shoulder, saying, "You've got to stop worrying so much."

"But Zoc, what if something happens to you? What would the colony do if anything happened to you…what would I do? If it hadn't been for you and Hope and being able to keep busy helping in the nursery, I don't know how I would have survived those first couple of months after my family died. You and Hope are the closest thing to family I have—I don't know what I would do if I lost you and could never see Hope again."

"Would it help to admit that I'm nervous about this trip too?" Zoc gently asked.

"But you've seemed so confident that everything would be fine, that nothing will go wrong," Ann said with a note of disbelief.

"That was all an act," Zoc explained, waving the words away. "I had assumed that if you thought I wasn't worried about it, then you wouldn't worry as much. Obviously, that didn't work, so we'll have to try plan 'B.'"

"What's plan 'B?'" Ann asked.

"I will admit that, although the thought of seeing what's beyond this house and the front yard is more exiting than anything I ever imagined I would get to do," Zoc began, "I'm worried about everything that might go wrong, too. Therefore, we will go over every possible thing that could go wrong and find ways to make sure we avoid letting any of those thing happen."

Ann smiled a little and said, "That sounds like a really good idea."

They spent the next hour going over everything they could think of that could go wrong. Some of it, all they could really do was be extremely careful; with others, Zoc could use his magic to help avoid. Once they had run out of things to worry about, Ann finished packing and went back to the nest with Zoc to say goodbye to Hope and her friends.

They left early the next morning. When they got to the hotel that evening, Ann carefully took off the headband and set it on the dresser, telling Zoc he could come out. Zoc came out and Ann held her hand down so he could step on to it, she then knelt down letting him off onto the floor and stepped back as he made himself bigger.

"Are you alright?" Ann asked.

"I'm fine," Zoc replied.

"Good. Listen-- I have to go down to the meeting room in an hour to find out what assignments I'll have for this week," Ann said, pulling a notebook and pencil out of her backpack to take with her. "Is there anything you'll need before I leave?"

"No, I'll be fine," Zoc answered. "I have a book that I started reading on the plane to finish, so I should be fine until you get back. Although I do have a question."

"What's that?" Ann asked, setting her backpack on the desk chair.

"What is this thing?" Zoc said, looking at his reflection in the TV screen.

"It's called a television," Ann explained, "and I've kept the one I have at home hidden so you wouldn't ask about it. I knew you'd want to know how it works, and I had no idea how I would explain it to you. I honestly don't know exactly how it works-- it's something that I've just never learned that much about. But I did bring you these." Ann picked up a second backpack she had brought with her and pulled out a couple of books about TV's. "I figured with you being stuck in the room while I'm working on my assignments, it would be a great time to tell you about it, anyways. I'll show you how to use it and then you can read the books if you want to know how it works."

"Okay," Zoc agreed. He glanced at the TV again. "It's really that complicated?"

"It's just something I haven't learned enough about to explain it to you,' Ann clarified. "I guess I just accept that it works and have never really taken the time to learn more. Now, this is how you work it…"

By the time Ann had finished showing Zoc how to use the TV and telling him a little more about it, it was time for her to go to her class. "Are you sure you'll be alright here, alone?" Ann asked as if Zoc were her son she was leaving home alone for the first time..

"I'll be fine," Zoc assured. "Now go on, before you're late."

"Alright," Ann said as she started out the door. Suddenly she came back, saying, "Oh, and you can open the curtains if you want to-- we're on the seventh floor, so no one should see you. But don't have the lights on when you have the curtains open, because it makes it really easy to see in." Ann said her goodbyes, grabbed her books and left.

When Ann got back that evening, she almost started laughing when she saw Zoc. He was sitting by the window in what had been a chair-- it looked like he had forced the back of it down until it was even with the seat so he could sit on it. She was about to say something when she realized that he hadn't noticed she had come in. Ann instantly started to worry-- she knew it was almost impossible to sneak up on him, unless he was completely distracted by a book he was reading or he was upset about something.

Suspecting the latter, as the book's she'd given Zoc earlier sat on the far left bed, she quietly started to walk towards him, not wanting to startle him but unsure how to let him know she was there. His antennae twitched slightly; he didn't turn around, but Ann knew that he was aware of her presence. "What's wrong?" Ann gently asked as she sat down on the end of the bed nearest him.

"Nothing," Zoc answered vaguely, still looking out the window.

Ann sat there, shocked for a moment, before she finally said, "You know I think that's the first time you've ever lied to me. Zoc, I came in and was within a few feet of you before you realized I was in the room. The only way anyone can get that close to you without you knowing it is if something is bothering you badly enough to completely distract you. Why won't you tell me what's bothering you?"

Zoc hesitated a minute; finally, he whispered, "Because you're human."

Ann was shocked, and what little hope she had had that he might feel the same way about her that she felt about him was shattered along with her heart. She took a couple of deep breaths, trying to fight back tears, then softly asked, "Why does that matter?"

"Because I don't want to upset you," Zoc answered.

"Zoc, aside from telling me you hate me and will never take me back to visit with Hope, I don't think there's anything you could say that would upset me more than refusing to tell me what's bothering you, just because I'm human," Ann told him, feeling a few unwanted tears well up in her eyes.

Zoc turned to face her; his eyes widened slightly when he saw how upset she was. Sighing, he looked back out the window and asked, "Even if I said that I thought humans are the most evil, violent, uncaring, disgusting creatures on Earth?"

Ann sighed with pure relief, saying, "As long as you're not including me in that, it doesn't bother me at all. What were you doing while I was gone? Watching the news?"

Zoc was a little confused by her reaction, and finally said, "Yes, that's what I was watching, and of course I wasn't including you! You really aren't bothered by what I just said?"

"No," Ann answered, bringing her legs up onto the bed to sit Indian style. "There are good and bad humans. The good ones out number the bad, but a lot of the ones mentioned on the news are the bad ones."

"But how can humans kill other humans?" Zoc asked. "How can they have so little respect for life that they could do something like that? I can understand your books about people killing others in wars to protect their family's and homes-- my colony was at war with the wasps since before I was hatched-- but how can humans kill people they don't even know?"

"I don't know," Ann admitted. "It's something most humans don't understand."

"What about the ones who steal from others?" Zoc went on. "They had to have mentioned three or four different people who had been robbed last night alone. Why would they do that?"

"That's a little more complicated to answer," Ann calmly explained. "There are two main possibilities: either the person is just selfish and is stealing because they want more stuff or the money they could get from selling it, or sometimes it's someone that doesn't have a job and they think they have to steal to survive."

"Isn't there anyone who could help them so they wouldn't have to steal?" Zoc asked.

"There are shelters where people can stay and places where they can get food," Ann told him, "but a lot of times the shelters run out of food and the rooms are filled and then the people have nowhere to go. If you're lucky, you have a car to sleep in." As Ann said this, she considered what her own family had been through.

"It sounds like you've experienced that," Zoc said softly.

"Yeah," Ann admitted. "I think I was about seven, my sister was just a baby. My dad had been offered a job in another town, and we packed all our stuff, but when we got there, they had hired someone else. We didn't have the money to go back home and Dad couldn't find work, so we ended up staying at a couple of shelters and spent a few nights in the car until he was able to find a job."

"That must have been hard on you, being so young and having no home," Zoc murmured.

"Yeah, it probably was. I don't really remember that much about it, except for the night we slept in the car," Ann replied. "I remember having the hardest time getting comfortable-- I was sleeping in the back seat, my sister was in her car seat next to me and I eventually fell asleep sitting on the floor with my head on the seat. Other than that, it's just bits and pieces. I don't remember ever being frightened or worried, though; I guess as young as I was, I never thought anything could go wrong as long as my parents were there. I certainly never would have thought I would lose my whole family." Ann said fighting back tears, but losing.

Zoc moved over onto the bed next to Ann and pulled her into a comforting hug. Ann wrapped her arms around him, carefully avoiding the spikes on his back, and laid her head on his shoulder.

After a few minutes, Ann murmured into Zoc's shoulder, "What would I have done if I hadn't met you? I don't think I could have survived losing my family without you."

"You're strong-- you would have done just fine without me," Zoc said as he broke the embrace.

Ann reluctantly let go. "Maybe, but having you around to keep me from thinking about them to much has made it a lot easier," she said, yawning.

"It's been a long day, you should get some sleep," Zoc told her.

"Why, are you afraid I'll make you yawn even though ants don't yawn?" Ann asked grinning as she stood up.

"Lucas told you about that?" Zoc asked, watching Ann pop her suitcase open.

"Yeah," Ann answered. "He said he had the hardest time not laughing at you when you yawned after telling him ants don't yawn." Ann started to pull her clothes out of her suitcase and put it all into the dresser.

"It wasn't my fault," Zoc weakly defended. "We normally don't-- it's like some type of contagious disease. I couldn't help it."

Ann couldn't help but grin. "I wonder how many times I could get you to yawn before we go home?" she said, yawning again as pulled her pile of nightgowns out of the suitcase. She suddenly groaned, "Ugh-- that little brat."

"What is it?" Zoc asked, concerned.

Ann held up the green nightgown Lucas had "suggested" she bring, "Lucas must have snuck this in while I wasn't looking." Ann said as she tossed it into the drawer, which she promptly pushed shut.

"So what's your assignment for this week? Will you have time to look for the lab records?" Zoc asked as the drawer clunked shut.

"I'll have plenty of time-- all I have to do for the assignment is find the officer's reports from a battle and make up a map of the most likely places to find artifacts that should still be at the battle site," Ann explained, grabbing her toothbrush and a tube of Crest. "That shouldn't take too long and then I can concentrate on finding the lab records."

"Just make sure you take me with you when you're looking for them," Zoc told her.

"Don't worry-- I won't do anything dangerous unless you're with me," Ann said with a smile as she headed into the bathroom to get ready for bed.

* * *

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	14. Chapter 14

It was Friday morning, and Ann, who was still asleep, still hadn't found anything about the lab or where the information might be kept and they had to leave the next day. There was only one place left that she could think to look, and she didn't even know if it was real or how to find out if it was.

At seven-thirty, she finally opened her eyes and looked over at Zoc to see if he was awake yet. She couldn't help smiling when she saw him-- he was laying chest down, and although that meant the spikes on his back weren't cutting into the bed, he would still have to make some repairs when he got up. He was facing Ann, and she could see that one of his mandibles had cut into the pillow. Ann quietly slipped out of bed, got dressed and then opened the curtains.

Sensing the sun on his face, Zoc opened his eyes and rolled over, smiling as he said, "I think coming on this trip was a mistake."

"Why?" Ann asked as she turned to face him. It took everything in her to not start laughing: Zoc had a good-sized piece of stuffing stuck on his mandible.

"I've gotten too used to waking up and being able to see the sunlight," he explained, unaware of the stuffing. "I'm going to miss this when we get home."

"Yeah, I know. That's the hardest part for me-- staying in the basement. I miss having windows and being able to see outside," Ann said, trying not to smile but failing miserably.

Zoc looked at her for a second then asked, "What are you smiling about?"

"You just look funny with a beard," Ann informed him.

Zoc acted like he was trying to figure out what she meant. Ann recognized that look-- it meant he had heard the word before from Lucas, but couldn't remember what it meant. Ann walked over to him, took the end of the stuffing and draped it over his other mandible. "I bet you would look really cute dressed up as Santa Claus," Ann laughed.

Zoc pulled the stuffing off and said, "Aren't I a little too skinny?"

"Okay, so you could be the skinniest Santa ever," Ann conceded. "How'd you know who I was talking about?"

"Lucas has shown me pictures and told me about him," Zoc explained. "So what's the plan for today-- is there anywhere we haven't looked for those records?"

Sighing, Ann admitted, "I don't know. The only other place I can think of to look may not even exist."

"How would you have heard about it if it didn't?" Zoc asked.

"It could have been something someone made up," Ann said. "I just remember reading something about it online."

"Online?" Zoc inquired.

"Don't ask," Ann told him. "It's more complicated to explain than the TV. I'll explain it to you when I have a lot of spare time and we're at home."

"Okay," Zoc agreed. "So where is this place supposed to be?"

"About twenty stories under the Lincoln Memorial," Ann replied. "I don't even know how we could look for a way in with out being caught."

Zoc smiled almost mischievously and said, "You might not be able to, but I could."

"You mean let you run around there _alone_? What if something happens to you, what if someone steps on you?" Ann asked worriedly.

"If there is some type of hidden door, it would be along a wall-- I'll just stay along the walls," Zoc explained. "No one will be walking close enough to the wall to step on me; I'll be fine. You can drop me off, we'll set up a time and place to meet and you can spend a few hours doing some more sightseeing."

"How will you know what time it is?" Ann asked.

"I'll take your watch with me," Zoc replied.

"Maybe we should just forget about it," Ann dismissed. "There's just too much that could go wrong if you're alone. What if another bug attacks you?"

"My father taught me how to fight, and I've fought the wasps for years," Zoc assured. "If anything does attack me, I won't have any problem dealing with it."

"But it's been over three years since the wasps stopped attacking the colony," Ann pointed out.

"Ever since they stopped attacking, we've had fighting competitions a couple times a year," Zoc explained. "It started when a wasp said that if the colony didn't work together and it was just a one-on-one fight, the wasps would always win. The ant he was talking to challenged him to a fight, the wasp accepted and they agreed to do it a few days later. In that time the whole colony heard about it, too, plus all the wasps, and several more ants and wasps decided they wanted to participate in the fight, too. By the day of the fight, there was one more wasp than there were ants and Hova convinced me I should try it. After that first time, it sort of became a tradition-- every spring and fall we have another competition."

"Does anyone ever get hurt?" Ann asked.

"Nothing worse than minor scrapes and bruises," Zoc reassured her. "There are only two rules for the fight: you can't hurt your opponent and no magic, although that second rule only applies to me."

"So… between you and a wasp, who usually wins?" Ann asked, curiosity piqued as she raised her eyebrow.

"No one-- it's always ended in a draw between me and one of the wasps," Zoc sighed. "But that could be because, being a wizard, I have more spare time to practice. But don't worry about me running in to any other insects. I'm the best fighter in the colony, and that's without using my magic."

Sighing, Ann said, "Fine. But you _will _be careful, right?"

"Of course I will," Zoc assured again. "Now let's have breakfast before all the doughnuts are gone."

Ann smiled and said, "Are you sure you don't want to try any of the other foods they have for breakfast? I mean, they have toast and bagels and cereal and--"

"And you usually have those things around, so I can have them whenever I want at home," Zoc finished. "You've never given me a doughnut before."

"That's because they're more expensive than what I normally buy for breakfast," Ann gently reminded him.

"Then we should enjoy having as many as we can while we're here," Zoc replied.

"All right-- but I get the cream-filled ones if there aren't enough for both of us," Ann said, grinning.

"But those are my favorite," Zoc said, crossing his arms and pouting.

Ann started laughing and said, "You always look so funny and cute when you pout."

"And you always laugh at me. Now _please_ get down there before someone else gets all the good doughnuts," Zoc said, trying to sound serious, but he still ended up smiling.

After eating breakfast, Ann started to put on a pair of earrings, one of which Zoc had changed so there was an area that looked kind of like the basket of a hot air balloon attached by one side to the back of the earring where he could ride and stay out of sight. However, he would still be able to see where they were and he was close enough to Ann's ear that she could hear him. Ann had never liked the idea of having her ears pierced, but she was beginning to wish they were. She was constantly worrying that the earring that Zoc was in would fall off and he would get hurt.

"You know, if it falls off I can get down far enough inside that I won't get hurt," Zoc said as Ann clipped the earring on.

Sighing, Ann said, "I know, and you can hold on tight enough that you won't fall out if it hits the ground." The way she said it made it seem like a common refrain.

"And the earring hasn't fallen off or even started to move _at all_ the whole time we've been sight-seeing. Maybe if I keep telling you all this every day for the next fifty years, you'll stop worrying," Zoc told her with a smile.

"I can't help it," Ann answered with a shrug.

"Then I guess the only thing we can do is get this done and over with so you can stop worrying," Zoc told her.

Ann smiled and said, "Okay."

When they got to the Lincoln Memorial about twenty minutes later, Ann and Zoc agreed on a place and time to meet. Ann carefully let Zoc climb out of the earring, onto her hand then she set him on the floor by the wall, whispered her goodbyes and left.

Ann spent the next couple of hours looking around, although she was so worried, that she wouldn't remember anything she had looked at when asked about it later. When it was finally time for them to meet back up, Ann sat along the wall waiting for Zoc to show up, wondering if he was alright, if he could be laying somewhere hurt or worse. Every minute that went by seemed like an hour. She looked up at a nearby clock and her hands started to shake when she realized he was over twenty minutes late.

Suddenly: "Sorry I'm late. Now stop worrying-- I'm fine."

Ann let out a relieved sigh and whispered, "Are you in?"

"Yes. Now let's get back to the hotel so I can tell you what I found."

When they got back to the hotel and Zoc had made himself bigger, Ann asked, "What did you find?"

"I don't know if the records you're looking for are there," Zoc began, "but there's definitely something under the building. I found a hidden door-- if I hadn't been small enough to see the space between the door and the floor at the bottom of it, I probably would have never noticed it. The top and sides are so well blended into the wall that even at my normal size, it was difficult to determine where the edges where."

"Do you have any idea what's on the other side?" Ann asked, managing to contain her mounting excitement.

"Yes, that's why I was late," Zoc confirmed. "I got so distracted looking around, I lost track of time. There was a long stairway that lead down several stories and then several floors of offices with computers and the lower floors where rooms filled with shelves of boxes full of papers."

"Excellent. We can sneak in tonight and-- wait a minute! How do you know what a computer is?" Ann asked, realizing it wasn't something she had ever told him about.

"Discovery Channel," Zoc replied, smiling.

Ann smiled and said, "Okay, I give. Anyway, by the time I get back from visiting Mary, it should be late enough that we can go ahead, sneak in and try to find the records."

"Are you sure it's safe?" Zoc asked, concerned.

"Zoc, if you could go in without being noticed during the day, I'm sure we'll be fine at night," Ann assured. "We can stay small until we find out where the records are and if there are security cameras where the records are kept, we'll just leave-- I promise."

Sighing, Zoc said, "All right."

"Good," Ann replied. "Now, I should be back in a few hours, but don't worry if I'm late. Mary and I have a habit of losing track of time when we haven't seen each other for a long time." Ann started to get ready to leave.

About thirty minutes later, Ann got to Mary's apartment and knocked. When Mary opened the door, she and Ann hugged as Mary said, "I can't believe how long it's been since we last saw each other! How have you been holding up with everything that's happened the last few months?"

"A lot better than I would have expected to," Ann said as they sat down in Mary's living room.

They spent the next couple of hours talking and ordered a pizza. They were just finishing dinner when Ann asked, "So, for the last month you have been telling me in every email I've gotten from you that there was something you had to tell me, but wanted to wait until you could tell me in person. So what is it?"

"Well, you remember me telling you about John?" Mary began.

"The geneticist?" Ann asked.

"Yep," Mary replied.

"You're still dating him?" Ann asked.

Mary grinned. "Kind of," she said excitedly as she held up her hand so Ann could see the engagement ring she was wearing.

"Congratulations!" Ann replied sincerely. "When's the wedding?"

"We haven't set an exact date yet," Mary answered, withdrawing her hand, "but as soon as possible after we graduate next year."

"Will this change your plans to move back home after you graduate?" Ann asked.

"We thought it would," Mary told her. "It's harder for a geneticist to find work than an obstetrician, but we found out a few day's ago that there's a place that will hire him when he graduates—its close enough that I can still be close to home."

"That's great," Ann sighed. "I really miss having you around."

"So what about you?" Mary asked her friend. "Do you have boyfriend yet?"

"No," Ann said.

"What about a guy you at least like?" Mary went on.

When Ann hesitated, Mary grinned and asked, "Who is he? Tell me all about him."

"What makes you so sure there's someone to tell you about?" Ann asked, trying to hide her thoughts.

"Because you didn't say 'no,'" Mary told her.

"You barley gave me time to answer," Ann weakly protested.

"So?" Mary said impatiently. "Every other time I've ever asked you that, you say 'no' right away; this time, you hesitated, which means you weren't sure whether to tell me something or not. So come on-- tell me. "

"I–I can't," Ann stuttered.

"Why not?" Mary asked.

"I just can't—I really wish I could, but I can't," Ann said reluctantly.

"You know you can trust me, right?" Mary asked, laying her hand on Ann's knee

"Of course I do," Ann answered. "I just promised I wouldn't tell anyone about him."

Mary raised an eyebrow and said, "Oh my gosh-- you found a real live shape-shifting dragon?"

Ann sighed, "I wish—that would make things so much easier."

"Come on-- can't you tell me about him without telling me what he is?" Mary begged.

"What do you mean 'what he is'?" Ann asked, feeling her mental defenses go up slightly.

"Well, as crazy as it sounds, the only reason I can think of for you not being able to tell me about him is that he's not human," Mary explained. "Look: I promise I won't tell anyone anything that you tell me or that you like a guy who's not human."

Unsure what to do, but desperate to have someone human to talk to, Ann sighed and finally said, "Alright, but, if I tell you I can't tell you something about him, you have to accept that and not ask again."

"Deal," Mary agreed, grinning. "So… he's not human, right?"

"He's as intelligent as a human, but if you want to get into scientific classification, your parakeet is more closely related to humans than he is," Ann said.

"Wow," Mary whistled. "So you've finally met a guy you like and he's not even close to being human."

"Yeah, and I'd say I'm well past just liking him." Ann let out a frustrated sigh and asked, "Do you think I'm crazy, falling in love with someone who's not human? Is that wrong? I mean, scientifically, he'd be considered an animal. Is it a sin for me to love him?"

"The Bible only says it's a sin to _have sex _with animals—there's nothing about falling in love with one," Mary explained. "And you always used to say as long as someone is as intelligent as a human, then they aren't really animals because animals aren't that intelligent--so the only difference is what they look like, so it doesn't mater if he doesn't look human… Have you told this guy how you feel?"

"Of course not," Ann denied.

"Why?" Mary asked gently.

"I just can't see him ever feeling the same way and I don't want to tell him and then have him end up being uncomfortable around me or avoiding me," Ann confessed. "If I hadn't had him to keep my mind off of my family, I don't know how I would have survived losing them; I just can't take the chance of losing him, too.

"Besides, there are plenty of women of his own people for him to choose from. Why would he want someone he could never have a normal life with? I mean, I don't know how _his _people would react, but you know most humans would never accept something like that. He's great with kids and babies, but we'd never be able to have our own-- physically, we're just too different. We'd never even be able to try to have children."

"Wow, okay," Mary asked sounding a little shocked. "So he can't, like… shape-shift or anything?"

"No," Ann said, trying not to laugh at the look of shock on Mary's face. "He can change his size, but not his appearance. I actually asked him about that before we came to Washington-- it sure would have made the sight-seeing a lot easier."

"Hold on-- you mean he came with you?" Mary asked in disbelief.

"Yeah," Ann confirmed

"Why?" Mary questioned.

"Because we were going to try to find out how his people became so intelligent and different from others like them," Ann explained. "He just came along to make sure I don't get myself killed trying to find the information."

"Okay, why are you looking here? What exactly is he, some type of escaped top secret government experiment?"

"Well, he isn't," Ann said slowly, "although there may be a chance that one of his ancestors was. No one still alive knows where they came from or why they're so different."

"And where exactly do you think you're going to find the information?" Mary asked her friend.

"Oh, that's easy: under the Lincoln Memorial," Ann dismissed easily, trying to sound like she was joking. "We're going to sneak in tonight and see if we can find the records."

Mary rolled her eyes and said, "Okay, whatever you say. I take it that means you haven't been able to find anything?"

"Nothing and I leave tomorrow," Ann said with a note of sadness.

"Well, you could tell me exactly what it is you're hunting for and I could keep looking until I come home. Of course, that would mean telling me what your boyfriend is," Mary said, smiling mischievously.

Ann groaned and said, "Don't call him my 'boyfriend'-- I already have Lucas harassing me and Hope trying to convince me to tell Zoc how I feel… it makes me miserable enough. I don't need it from you, too."

"Wait a minute-- how does Lucas know about this?" Mary asked.

"He was friends with Zoc and his people a long time before I met them," Ann elaborated.

"And who is Hope?" Mary went on.

"She's Zoc's sister," Ann clarified.

"Okay, and Zoc would be the guy you've fallen in love with?" Mary assumed.

"Yes," Ann confirmed.

"And Hope and Lucas both know that you like Zoc?" Mary questioned.

"No," Ann sighed. " Hope knows, but Lucas is just a brat. It's kind of hard to explain, but after a room full of a few hundred people collapsed, I ended up helping take care of the injured while Zoc helped dig people out. By the time everyone was out safe, it was four in the morning. Zoc took me home and I told him he could stay and get some sleep. We were both absolutely covered in mud, so I told him he could sleep in my bed with me so he wouldn't get the couch muddy. Lucas caught us the next morning and hasn't stopped harassing me since."

"Well, you're the last person I would have expected to get caught sleeping with a guy you weren't married to," Mary said, seriously crossing her arms.

"Mary!" Ann shrieked.

"What? Oh yeah, I forgot—sex isn't a possibility," Mary said. "Well, all that might be a bad thing when you two get married, but you can spend the night with him whenever you want and no one will be able to accuse you of doing anything wrong."

"What do you mean, 'when we get married?" Ann asked half-tartly.

"You're obviously completely in love with this guy-- why _wouldn't_ you end up married?" Mary asked, shrugging her shoulders

"Have you heard anything I've told you tonight?" Ann asked, hurt that Mary wasn't using the common sense she had.

"Of course I have," Mary replied sincerely. "You've fallen in love with a guy who came half way across the country with you just to make sure you're safe; it sounds like you both spend a lot of time together, which means you get along well and enjoy each others company; and his sister keeps telling you to tell him how you feel."

"What does his sister have to do with this?" Ann asked, getting frustrated.

"Think about it, Ann," Mary told her. "If you have a crush or you like someone, sooner or later, you're going to tell someone or someone will find out. Now, either it will be a close friend or, if you're close to your siblings, one of them. So, if Hope knows that Zoc likes you and that you like him, but you both made her promise not to tell anyone--or, more importantly, each other-- then all she can do is try to get you two to admit your feelings to each other."

"Hope just likes the idea of us being sisters," Ann said. "Why would Zoc want to give up a normal life to be with me?"

"Would you be willing to give up a normal life to be with him?" Mary asked gently.

"Yes," Ann answered without hesitation.

"Why?" Mary asked, sounding more like a psychologist than an obstetrician.

"Because I love him-- he seems to be everything I've ever wanted in a man but have never been able to find," Ann confessed.

"So why is it so hard to believe that he might feel the same way?" Mary questioned. "He could easily be thinking the same things you have been: 'She has plenty of men to choose from-- why would she give up a normal life to be with me? How can I risk our friendship when it seems impossible?'"

"Do you really believe that's possible?" Ann asked, desperately wanting to believe it might be true.

"I wouldn't have said it if I didn't," Mary said sincerely, laying her hand on her friend's shoulder. She yawned and looked at the clock. "Shoot, it's already ten-thirty. It's amazing how we lose track of time."

"I know," Ann agreed, smiling, "I guess I should get back to the hotel before Zoc starts worrying that something happened to me."

"Alright, but you have to promise me you'll tell him how you feel," Mary ordered as she and Ann stood.

"I want to, but what if you're wrong?" Ann asked miserably. "I just need some sign that he feels the same way before I can take that risk."

"Well, when you get home, corner his sister and just ask her if he feels the same way," Mary suggested. "Either she'll give in and tell you what she knows, or you may be able to tell if she's lying or trying to avoid telling you."

"Alright, I'll try that," Ann said with a smile. She hugged Mary as she said good-bye, then headed back to the hotel.

* * *

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	15. Chapter 15

When Ann got back to the hotel, she put on a pair of black jeans and a black, long-sleeved T-shirt. "Are you ready to go?" she asked Zoc as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail and put on the earrings."Are you sure this is a good idea?" Zoc asked. "Are those records really worth the risk of being caught?" Sighing, Ann said, "The only time we might be caught is when you make me bigger so I can get the records. We don't even know if we'll find them, and if there are security cameras, I won't even _try _to get them. Now stop worrying and let's go-- we don't know how long this will take and I have to get up early to make sure everything's repacked before we go home tomorrow.""I can't help worrying," Zoc insisted. "This just seems too dangerous; it's not worth the risk. There are too many things that could go wrong."

"Well then, we should get it over with so you can stop worrying," Ann replied, trying not to smile as Zoc glared at her, obviously not happy about his own words being used against him.

"We're not going," Zoc stubbornly stated, sitting down on the end of his bed with his back to Ann.

Ann was getting more than a little irritated, and was about to chew him out for insisting on running around earlier and now refusing to take her. Suddenly, the thought crossed her mind that he was just trying to protect her. Ann thought of what Mary had said, and couldn't help wondering exactly _why _he was being so protective of her.

Sighing she walked over, sat down next to him and softly asked, "Why was it okay for you to go in there earlier, when there were _people _around, but now-- when there shouldn't be anyone there and it should be so much safer-- you won't take me?"

"Because I know I can take care of myself; there's no guarantee I can keep you safe. I've never done well protecting others," Zoc said quietly, looking out the window.

"What are you talking about?" Ann asked gently. "If it weren't for you, the whole colony could have been killed and I can't even _begin _to tell you how many times I've been told about times you saved others when the wasps used to attack."

"I was within a few feet of Hova when she was killed," Zoc confessed, avoiding Ann's eyes. "I should have been able to do something to save her. And then, when I was a pupa… my little sister, it was her first day of wizard training, she had never been outside of the nest before and she was so scared. I promised her that I would take care of her, that I wouldn't let anything bad happen to her. And then I just stood there watching when the Cloudbreather came. I should have done something to help her and the rest of my family."

Ann gently rested her hand on his arm. "Zoc, you said yourself that you didn't even know what was happening until it was too late when Hova died, and you were just a child when your family died-- there was nothing you could do. If you had gotten down from that flower, you would have died, too, and then Hope wouldn't have had anyone left." Ann used her free hand to carefully take hold of Zoc's mandible and turn his face towards hers. "Both times, there was nothing anyone could have done to change what happened."

"I know," Zoc sighed. "People have been telling me that more than half my life, but it doesn't make me feel any less guilty for convincing my sister to go out and telling her I would take care of her and then not being able to. With Hova… I can't help feeling that if I had been paying closer attention to what was going on around us, I could have done something to save her."

"I guess when someone dies so suddenly like that, you never stop wondering if they would still be alive if you had done something differently," Ann consoled. "But that's no reason not to go tonight-- we'll be careful; besides, you're in control: if you don't think it's safe to make me bigger, you can just flat-out refuse and I won't be able to do anything about it."

"Except beg and try to convince me like you're doing now," Zoc replied, a note of bitterness in his voice.

Ann smiled softly and said, "I promise, as long as you have a good reason for refusing, I won't try to change your mind."

"You're not going to give up on this, are you?" Zoc asked.

"No, I'm not," Ann answered.

"All right, we'll go," Zoc said reluctantly.

Smiling, Ann stood, pulling Zoc up with her, and said, "Good. Now let's get going." Zoc shrunk himself, and Ann let him walk onto her hand. She held him up to her ear so he could climb into the earring and they left.

Ann parked her rental car a few blocks from the Lincoln memorial and then walked the rest of the way. When they got there, after making sure no one else was around Zoc shrunk her and they headed in.

On the other side of the hidden door was a long stairway, leading down several floors with security cameras lining it. "How are we going to get down there with out it taking forever?" Ann asked.

"The same way I got down before," Zoc replied, walking over to a ventilation grate on the wall.

They stepped through the grate and Ann gasped when she saw that the shaft went straight down. From the looks of it, and from the dim lights shining through the occasional grate, the tunnel probably went down all twenty stories.

"How is this going to help?" Ann asked, taking a few steps back from the edge. "Going down the stairs looks safer than trying to get down through here."

"Ann, I'm an ant-- I can walk down the walls," Zoc reminded her. "This will be quicker than trying to get down the stairs."

"That's great for you, but how am I supposed to get down?" Ann asked.

Zoc walked over to her, picked her up easily and answered, "I'll carry you."

"Are you sure that's safe?" Ann questioned. "I mean, this isn't like carrying me up the rose bush; the walls are a lot smoother. What if you lose your grip and we both end up falling?"

"I climbed down through here earlier," Zoc told her. "We'll be fine-- trust me, I know what I'm doing."

"Do I have a choice?" Ann asked.

"Not if you want to get down there sometime tonight," Zoc answered. "Of course, we could just give up and go back to the hotel"

"No, just go," Ann ordered, wrapping her arms around Zoc's neck.

As Zoc stared down the shaft head first, Ann tightened her grip and buried her face against his thorax, not wanting to see the seemingly bottomless pit they were descending into, though it didn't help her nerves much. After a while, she started trying to concentrate on the feel of Zoc's arms around her instead of thinking about where they were, luckily, it worked and she relaxed just a little.

When they were about halfway down the shaft, Zoc stopped at one of the grates and set Ann down. "How are you doing?" he asked.

"Okay, I guess," Ann whispered, looking through the grate. On the other side was a room with several computers. "I've got an idea that might make finding the records easier." She stepped through the grate and checked the room for security cameras.

"What exactly are you planning?" Zoc asked, watching Ann.

"I may be able to find out where the records are using one of the computers, since there aren't any security cameras in this room," Ann said through the grate.

"Are you sure that's safe?" Zoc asked worriedly.

"Do you see any security cameras?" Ann asked him, arching an eyebrow.

"No," Zoc admitted.

"Then it should be perfectly safe," Ann reassured him.

Zoc made her bigger; Ann helped him back into the earring, then pulled out a pair of rubber gloves, put them on as she walked over to the computer and turned it on. After a few minutes, it came up with a screen asking for a password. "Great, so much for that idea," Ann groaned.

"Try 'Lincoln.'" Zoc suggested.

"Why?" Ann asked.

"That's the password I saw someone use earlier," Zoc explained. "I don't know if it'll be the same on this computer, but it's worth a try."

Ann held her hand up by her ear and said, "Climb out for a minute. If this doesn't work and sets off an alarm or something, you need to be where you can shrink me right away."

"Okay," agreed as he climbed onto her hand.

Ann set him on the desk next to the keyboard, then typed in the password and, holding her breath, hit the login button. She let out a relived sigh when it worked and waited impatiently for the screen to finish starting up. When it had finally finished loading, Ann typed in the name of the lab. After searching for a minute, the computer came up with a page that gave a floor, room, box and file number. Ann pulled a pen and pad of paper out of her pocket and wrote the information down, then shut the computer off.

Zoc shrunk her and they headed back into the ventilation shaft.

Ann groaned. "Are you sure there's no other way down?" she asked, glancing down the shaft as she took the gloves off.

"Its only five more floors down; we'll be fine, and I'm not going to drop you," Zoc gently reassured her as he picked her up again.

When they got to the right floor, they headed through a shaft that ran over the rooms and had grates that opened into each one. Suddenly, they heard footsteps; Ann and Zoc looked down through one of the grates and could see a security guard walking through the hallway out side of the rooms, then through a doorway at the end of the hall that lead to the stairs.

"Come on-- let's hurry before he comes back to this floor," Ann said, heading to the grate that would lead to the room the records would be in. She looked down through the grate. "How are we going to get down there?"

"We're not," Zoc stated.

"What do you mean, 'we're not?'" Ann asked in disbelief.

"It's too dangerous," Zoc announced.

"Zoc, it's no more dangerous then when we went into the room with the computers," Ann pointed out, pointing back where they had come from.

"If I had known there were guards, I never would have let you go into that room. Those records aren't worth the risk," Zoc told her firmly.

"I'll be fine, Zoc-- let's just get this done before he comes back to this floor," Ann replied, just as firmly.

"What happened to you promising that if I brought you here, you wouldn't argue with me if I didn't think it was safe to make you bigger?" Zoc asked.

"That was _only_ if you had a good reason," Ann shot back.

"I happen to think that the very possible chance of you being caught and sent to prison or killed is a good reason," Zoc told her.

"You're just over reacting-- the guard wasn't even checking in the rooms," Ann told him. "As long as we're quiet, they'll never know we're here."

"If they do hear you, you could end up dead," Zoc reminded.

"Quit being so stubborn-- I'll be fine," Ann told him. "I've gotten _this _close and I'm not leaving without those records."

"Those records aren't worth risking your life," Zoc announced.

"It's my life-- I'll decide when something's too dangerous to risk it," Ann said angrily. "Why does it matter so much to you, anyway?"

"Because I can't survive losing another woman I love!" Zoc snapped. The moment he realized what he had said, his eyes widened with horror and he looked away from Ann for the first time since they had started arguing.

Ann stood in stunned silence for a moment, trying to make herself believe that she really had heard what she thought she had. "What did you just say?" she finally asked softly, a small part of her mind sure she had to have miss heard him.

"Forget about it. Let's just go home, please," Zoc said irritably.

"Zoc, please… just tell me what you said," Ann said, trying to keep her voice from sounding as desperate as she felt.

"I love you! Are you happy now? Some stupid, crazy ant has fallen in love with you-- is that what you wanted to hear?" Zoc said, obviously frustrated.

Her heart racing and overwhelmed with intense joy, Ann ran to Zoc and hugged him. Zoc's body stiffened with shock, but after a second, he relaxed and very hesitantly wrapped his arms around Ann.

After a minute, Ann loosened her arms, just enough that she could look up at Zoc's face. "I have never wanted to hear anything more in my entire life," she whispered, smiling. "I love you, too. And you're not stupid, and you're no crazier than I am."

"I thought this was impossible," Zoc said just as softly, returning Ann's smile.

"I thought a wizard knows no such word," Ann replied.

"I know, and every time I think something is impossible, I'm proven wrong," Zoc answered.

"Well then, just make yourself believe it's impossible to get out of here without being caught and we shouldn't have any trouble," Ann said, then regretted it as the smile quickly disappeared from Zoc's face.  
Sighing, she said, "Zoc, I know you're worried, but we've come this far without any trouble; we can't just give up now. Besides, you could get lucky and there could be security cameras in the record room, and then we can just go back to the hotel."

"Why is it that I always fall in love with women who feel they have to risk their lives to satisfy their curiosity?" Zoc asked some unseen higher power.

"Because you make such a dashing hero and it gives you a chance to show off," Ann answered, smiling mischievously.

Zoc let out a frustrated sigh. "Is there anyway I'm going to be able to talk you out of this?" he asked.

"No," Ann said, feeling a little guilty for worrying him, but still not willing to give up.

"Then I'm going with you," Zoc announced.

"Wait a minute-- you mean full-size going with me?" Ann asked in disbelief.

"Yes," Zoc confirmed.

"Zoc, that's too dangerous-- you have to stay out of sight," Ann reminded.

"If you're going to be big enough to be seen, why can't I?" Zoc asked.

"Because if they see me, all they'll know is that some woman has broken in," Ann explained somewhat patiently. "If they see you and the lab does have something to do with why your colony is so different, then they could come after the entire colony and they would know that I'm from the area where the lab was and would be able to find me a lot more easily, too."

Zoc looked like he wanted to argue with her, but knew she was right.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine."

Sighing, Zoc reluctantly said, "Fine."

"You know… if we're going to get this done tonight, you're going to have to let go of me," Ann murmured after a minute of neither one of them making any move to let go of each other.

"I don't want to," Zoc whispered into her hair as he tightened his arms around her.

Ann grinned. "You have to, but you can hold me as long as you want when we get back to the hotel," she told him, then kissed him on the cheek, reluctantly pulled away from him and started to head towards the grate again.

Suddenly, Zoc grabbed Ann from behind, wrapping his arms around her waist and said, "You promise?"

Ann laughed and answered, "Yes."

"Then let's get this done with as quickly as possible," Zoc said, letting her go for a beat.

Zoc carried Ann to the floor of the room and, after making sure there were no security cameras, reluctantly made her bigger. She silently walked over to the long rows of shelves; there were five sets of shelves, each about twenty feet long and about three feet apart. She started to look for the right box and, after a minute, she found it at the far end of one of the selves, opened it and started flipping through the files. She had just found the right one when she heard something behind her that sounded like a door opening.

Before she could turn around, a man's voice ordered, "Freeze or I'll shoot." Ann heard a gun cock.

Before she could even think about what to do, the man let out a startled cry. Ann turned around in time to see Zoc crushing the gun in one hand while holding the man with his chest pinned against one of the shelves with the other hand. Suddenly, Zoc hit the man in the back of the head with the crushed gun, letting him drop to the floor unconscious, then asked, "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Did he see you?" Ann asked quietly as she realized just how easily she could have been killed if Zoc hadn't been able to get there in time.

"No, I was behind him the whole time," Zoc replied. "Have you found the records you were looking for?"

Ann turned back to the box, pulled out the file and confirmed, "Yes."

"Good-- let's get out of here," Zoc said, gently taking Ann by the wrist.

Once they were back in the ventilation shaft, Zoc set Ann down, resting his hand on her shoulder. He asked, "Are you sure you're all right?"

"Yeah, I just… I'm sorry. You were right-- it was too dangerous; I should have listened to you," Ann said, fighting back tears.

Zoc gently pulled her into his arms and said, "It's okay; you're safe now, and that's all that matters. Honestly, if I hadn't thought you were right about there being almost no chance of anyone coming in, I never would have let you go."

"I still should have been more careful," Ann said looking up at him. "I mean, I had to have done something to draw his attention."

"Ann, if you had made a sound, I would have heard it," Zoc assured her. "The floor didn't even creak; the only sound you made was when you slid the box out and, from what I know about humans, he wouldn't have heard it unless he was right next to you."

"But how else could he have known I was here?" Ann asked.

"I don't know, but it was nothing you did," Zoc assured again, running a hand through Ann's hair for a moment. "Now, let's get out of here. A place this size probably has more than one guard and I want us as far away from here as possible before someone finds the guard or he wakes up."

The rest of the trip back to the hotel was (thankfully) uneventful. As she walked in to the room, Ann dropped the file of lab records on the end of her bed, helped Zoc down from the earring and started to get ready for bed. As she opened the drawer to get out a nightgown, she spotted the one Lucas had snuck in. She found herself wondering if Zoc thought anything about her was physically attractive, if he would notice if she wore it. Part of her doubted it, they were just too different; then again, she thought _he_ was attractive, handsome. Although if she really thought about it as individual things that she found physically attractive about him, all she could come up with were two: that his eyes that seemed to change from a light blue to a brilliant darker blue depending on how the light hit them; and the incredible feeling whenever he held her: he was so gentle, but she could always sense his amazing strength and it always made her feel safe and relaxed.  
Finally, letting her curiosity get the better of her, she grabbed the gown and headed into the bathroom to change.

When she came out a few minutes later, she was more than a little disappointed to find that Zoc looked like he had already fallen asleep. Ann pulled the ponytail holder out of her hair, picked her brush up off the dresser and started to brush her hair, then blushed a little when she looked in the mirror hanging above the dresser and realized Zoc was still awake and was watching her. It wasn't the first time she had seen him looking at her in the mirror, but it was the first time he hadn't looked away quickly enough that she wasn't sure whether he was actually watching her or had just glanced that way; this time he never took his eyes off of her.

"You were watching me the last several nights weren't you?" Ann asked, turning to face him.

"Yes, and it's so nice being able to, without worrying about you noticing," Zoc admitted, smiling as he sat up so he was supporting himself with one arm.

As Ann walked between the beds to climb into hers, Zoc suddenly wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her on to his bed.

Landing on her side on the far side of his bed with her legs draped over his and the base of where his thorax met his abdomen, she gasped softly. "What do you think you're doing?" she demanded, pulling her legs the rest of the way over and trying not to smile.

Zoc grinned, almost devilishly. "You promised me that when we got back, I could hold you as long as I wanted, and I have no intention of letting you out of my arms until we have to leave tomorrow," he whispered tenderly, gently running his fingers through her hair and over her bare shoulder.

Ann smiled, "Well then it's a good thing you make such a comfortable pillow." She said as she laid her head on his thorax.

Zoc just smiled and wrapped one arm around her waist while he continued to gently run his hand over her shoulder and upper arm, then hesitantly said, "When we get home, don't blame Lucas for this gown getting packed."

Lifting her head slightly and raising an eyebrow, Ann asked in disbelief, "_You _snuck it into my suitcase?"

His cheeks turning a shade darker as he blushed slightly, he admitted, "Yes. I didn't know if there was any chance you would actually wear it. You look absolutely elegant in your long flowing skirts, but when you wore your swimsuit I liked being able to see your shoulders."

"You seem to like more than just seeing them," Ann murmured, smiling as Zoc continued to slowly run his fingers over her shoulder.

"You have such soft skin," Zoc whispered. "I like it. I feel horrible for thinking it, but I kept hoping you would end up sunburned again just so I would have an excuse to run my hands over your skin again."

Ann started laughing, "I was so upset when I fell asleep before you finished putting the healing potion on my back. After that, I deliberately tried to get a sunburn because I enjoyed it so much, but it never worked." Ann yawned. "We should probably get some sleep; it's already after two in the morning." She laid her head back on his chest.

They said good night and happily fell asleep in each other's arms.

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	16. Chapter 16

Ann woke up, smiling as she realized she was still in Zoc's arms, that what happened the night before hadn't been a dream. She turned slightly to look at the alarm, and groaned.

"What's wrong?" Zoc asked, stirring awake and gently running his fingers through her thick brown hair.

"Its already after nine-- I need to get up and pack," Ann answered reluctantly, trying to sit up. She didn't get far before Zoc pulled her back down. "Zoc I have to get packed," she repeated.

Zoc just smiled at her, tightening his arm around her waist just a bit, and grabbed his staff from beside the bed with the other hand, never once taking his eyes off of Ann. The crystal glowed for a moment, and all of Ann's suitcases appeared on her bed and everything from around the room had disappeared, except for her hairbrush and a rust-colored, colonial style dress with off-white trim that still hung in the closet.

Smiling softly, Ann asked, "Are you ever going to let me go?"

"After as long as I've waited to be able to hold you in my arms, I have no intention of letting you go before I absolutely have to," Zoc murmured.

"Did Hope know that you had fallen in love with me?" Ann asked softly.

"Yes," Zoc confirmed. "She kept telling me I should tell you, and for some reason, after the cave-in, she became even more insistent that I tell you."

Ann laughed slightly and said, "Mary was right."

"About what?" Zoc asked.

"About Hope knowing," Ann explained. "It was the night of the cave-in that Hope found out I was in love with you. Every time you weren't around, she would try to convince me to tell you."

"You told Mary about us?" Zoc asked, sounding concerned and apparently having missed the rest of Ann's explanation. "How much?"

"Not much," Ann reassured. "She knows that Lucas knows about you, and about Hope trying to convince me to tell you how I felt. She figured out that you aren't human on her own, when I refused to tell her about you. Before I told her anything, she promised not to tell anyone anything I told her."

"You're sure she can be trusted?" Zoc questioned.

"We've been best friends since we were seven, and I've always been able to trust her," Ann replied. "She's good at keeping secrets, Zoc-- there's nothing to worry about."

"So… did it bother her that you were in love with someone who's not human?" Zoc asked, phrasing the question delicately.

"No," Ann answered. "In fact, it didn't seem to bother her at all-- she already seemed sure that we'll end up married." Ann lifted her head from Zoc's thorax to see his reaction.

Zoc looked like he wasn't sure what to say. "What's wrong-- you hadn't thought that far ahead?" Ann teased gently.

"No," Zoc replied, conviction evident in his voice. "If we can make this work, I want nothing more than to marry you. It's just… there's so much we would have to give up, especially you."

"Why would I have to give up any more than you would?" Ann asked.

"From what I've seen of humans, they would never accept you marrying someone who's not human," Zoc began. "You would never be able to tell anyone."

"And you think the colony would be more accepting?" Ann questioned, resisting the urge to arch an eyebrow.

"I'm sure there would be some that wouldn't be happy about it, but I think most of the colony would be more accepting," Zoc answered.

"It'll be hard not being able to brag to anyone about how wonderful you are," Ann conceded, grinning at him. "Honestly, though-- Mary's the only person I would normally talk about stuff like that with. Maybe someday, if you think it's safe, I could tell her more about you."

"If she's as trustworthy as you say, I'm sure that wouldn't be a problem," Zoc told her.

"Then I don't think not being able to tell anyone else about you would bother me too much," Ann breathed.

Sighing, Zoc said, "You know… there's a lot more we would have to give up?"

"Yeah-- having kids," Ann admitted.

"Yes," Zoc confirmed, softly running his hand through Ann's hair again. "You're wonderful with pupas-- I know you would make a wonderful mother. Are you sure you can give that up to be with me?"

"Of course," Ann answered with conviction. "Honestly, I think Mary would be more upset about that than I would be."

"Why would she care?" Zoc asked, confused.

"Because she's an obstetrician, or will be when she graduates and--" Ann stopped when she saw the confused look on Zoc's face.

"What's an obstetrician?" he asked.

"It's a doctor who takes care of pregnant women and babies right after they're born," Ann explained. "When Mary left for college, she made me promise not to get pregnant until she'd graduated so she could be my doctor, so I imagine she'd probably be disappointed that I'll never need her."

"It really won't bother you?" Zoc asked, mildly awed.

"Honestly, I would love it if we could have children," Ann told him, "but as long as I have you, I'd be content. Of course, you always say nothing is impossible… maybe we'll get into those records and find out--" Ann suddenly stopped, biting her lower lip.

"What is it? What were you going to say?" Zoc gently asked.

Sighing, Ann murmured, "I was going to say, maybe we would find out if you had been genetically changed enough that we could have kids. But it wouldn't matter; physically, we're too different-- we'll never be able to have sex. It was a crazy idea anyway." For the first time since she'd woke up in his arms, Ann wasn't able to look Zoc in the eye.

"Well I guess that answers that question," Zoc sighed.

"About what?" Ann questioned.

"About whether that would be possible," Zoc elaborated. "I'd assumed it wouldn't be, but I wasn't completely sure. You obviously know more about ants than I do about humans."

"I do have all those books about ants," Ann reminded him. "I probably have a couple about human anatomy you could read if you want to."

Zoc grinned at her with a mischievous gleam in his icy blue eyes and suggested, "I think I'll just wait until we're married and let you teach me."

Turning a soft shade of rosy pink, Ann said, "You know, from what I've heard, most men aren't comfortable talking about marriage right away like this. Is this an ant thing or just you?"

"Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't be discussed until at least the third or fourth date," Zoc explained, "but I don't want us to get any more emotionally involved in this relationship and then find out there's some sacrifice we just can't make, especially considering how much I want us to make this work. Although honestly… I don't know anything about human courtship except what I've seen on TV, and some of that's seems so wrong. I certainly hope it's not true."

"Like what?" Ann gently asked, tracing the pattern on Zoc's thorax with her index finger.

"Do humans really have sex before their married?" Zoc asked delicately.

"Not all humans, but it seems like a lot do," Ann admitted. "Ants don't?"

"Its not unheard of, but most consider it a sign of disrespect," Zoc began. "If you truly love and respect someone, you should be willing to commit your life to them before expecting them to give their body to you in such a way." Zoc hesitated a moment, looking like there was something he wasn't sure he wanted to know. "Have you ever--"

"No," Ann denied, gently but firmly, before he could finish the question. "I've always believed you should wait until you're married, too. Plus… I've never even had a boyfriend; you'll be the first-- and hopefully only-- man I ever kiss."

"I suppose I'll have to make sure the first time I kiss you is really special and memorable, then," Zoc murmured, teasingly but with immense love.

"Or you could just kiss me now," Ann suggested with a soft smile.

Before she knew what was happening, Ann was on her back next to Zoc, and he was gently brushing her hair back from her face. "Not something a little more romantic?" Zoc asked, searching Ann's eyes.

"As long as I've wanted to kiss you, this would be romantic enough for me," Ann whispered, wrapping her arms around Zoc's neck.

That was all the encouragement Zoc needed: he leaned down, pulling Ann into a long, gentle, passionate kiss. Ann could feel sparks of electricity shoot through her body. They pulled apart, smiling at each other, just as someone knocked at the door.

"If we ignore them, do you think they'll go away?" Ann asked quietly, a tinge of worry evident in her voice. She groaned as whoever it was knocked again.

"It could be something important," Zoc said, then grinned. "Maybe your flight has been delayed and we can stay here a few more hours. There's still a lot we need to talk about and we would have less interruptions here."

"Oh, fine," Ann sighed as they slipped out of the bed. "But if it's not important I'm going to hurt whoever's out there for interrupting us." She put on her bathrobe and started heading towards the door.

Before she got more than a few feet, Zoc pulled her back to him, gently pressing her body to his and kissing her again. As he pulled away, he softly reminded, "If it's not important, we still have a couple of hours before we have to leave. We can just pick up where we left off."

"Sounds good to me," Ann said as she walked over to the door and looked through the peephole. She groaned and quietly called to Zoc, "You should get out of sight-- it's Mary, she'll probably want to come in."

Nearly instantaneously, Zoc shrunk him self and Ann opened the door.

"Hey, Mary. What are you doing here?" Ann asked as she opened the door.

"I just thought since we never see each other anymore, I would take you out for breakfast," Mary explained. "You don't have to go to the airport until noon, right?"

"Um, yeah, just let me get dressed," Ann said haltingly, unable to come up with an excuse not to go.

Ann grabbed her clothes and headed into the bathroom to get dressed. When she stepped out several minutes later, she froze when Mary looked up at her from where she was sitting on the foot of the bed, her back towards the window, with a look of complete shock on her face and the file of lab papers in her lap. A few were in her hands, the ones that she had been reading.

"That whole thing about breaking in somewhere and stealing records… you were serious, weren't you?" Mary asked in numb disbelief.

Sighing, Ann hesitantly said, "Yeah, but I didn't have any other choice-- it's not my fault they kept the records hidden."

"Okay, so you didn't have any other options to get a look at the records," Mary replied. "So, is your boyfriend a wasp or an ant?"

"Mary!" Ann exclaimed, trying to sound shocked and upset.

"What? It's not like there's anyone here--" Mary suddenly gasped, bringing her hand up over her mouth. "You said he could change his size, didn't you?"

"Yes," Ann said seriously.

"So he's, like, in the room… where he can hear us?" Mary said hoarsely.

"Yes," Ann confirmed.

Lowering her voice, Mary asked, "Are you going to kill me for the boyfriend comment?

"No-- I would have been more likely to have killed you if you had knocked a minute earlier," Ann said as she sat down next to Mary.

"Why?" Mary questioned.

"Because I would have been more upset if you had interrupted my first kiss just to ask me to go get breakfast with you," Ann said, grinning slyly.

"Wait a minute-- first kiss? So you told him?" Mary asked.

"No, he accidentally told me," Ann clarified.

"Accidentally?" Mary repeated, cocking an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Ann said with a half-sigh. "We were arguing and I kind of got him mad enough that he was responding before he realized what he was saying. He ended up telling me he loved me."

"So I was right as usual," Mary said, smiling.

"Well, you were right this time," Ann agreed, "and about his sister knowing."

"What do you mean this time? I'm always right," Mary announced flippantly. "So… can I meet him? I mean, you know you can trust me and I already know he's a talking ant or wasp? Which one is he, anyway?"

"I'm an ant," Zoc said from behind them.

Ann and Mary both jumped into standing positions and turned to look at him. Mary's mouth dropped open and her eyes got huge before she passed out.

Ann grabbed her, making sure she didn't fall off of the end of the bed. Easing her friend into a horizontal position on her side, then looked up at Zoc. "You could have let me know you were going to let her see you and given me some time to prepare her," she gently reprimanded as she got up and walked over by Zoc.

"I think this worked quite well," Zoc informed her smoothly.

"Zoc, she's unconscious-- I don't think it could have worked much _worse_," Ann shot back, trying not to howl.

Zoc smiled softly, wrapped his arms around Ann's waist and announced, "With her unconscious, I have at least a few more minutes to hold you."

Ann automatically smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck and asked, "What if she wakes up?"

"Then it's a good thing she already knows about us. Like I said earlier, I'm not letting you out of my arms unless I absolutely have to," Zoc said bring one hand up to gently run it through Ann's hair.

"Jeez, no wonder you fell in love with him-- he sounds so romantic," Mary said as she sat up.

Ann and Zoc jumped at the sound of her voice and quickly let go of each other. "So, how on earth did you end up meeting a giant talking ant?" Mary questioned, looking from Zoc to Ann.

"He's not a giant-- he can just make himself bigger," Ann patiently explained.

"Okay… so how did you two meet? This seems crazy even for you," Mary asked, looking at Ann with pure amusement.

Ann glanced at Zoc a question in her dark eyes. "As long as you're sure she can be trusted, go ahead and tell her," Zoc replied, sensing the question.

The next hour and a half was spent telling Mary about how they had met and what had happened since then. By the time they had finished, it was almost time for Ann and Zoc to leave. Ann and Mary said good-bye; Ann politely but quickly ushered her friend out the door, then made sure everything had been packed and got out the rose headband.

"Do we have to do this again?" Ann asked, looking at the headband.

"Well, the only other option is for me to ride in the earring and I could fall out of it or it could get lost, considering that it could fall off more easily than the headband," Zoc mused. "And if I'm by your ear, I would want to talk to you and I wouldn't want you to end up with people thinking you're crazy because you look like you're talking to yourself." Zoc quietly walked up behind Ann and wrap an arm around her waist while using the other hand to brush her hair to one side so he could kiss her neck.

Ann smiled softly, bringing her right hand up to lay it on Zoc's, murmuring, "I think they were right about you."

"Who was right about what?" Zoc whispered into Ann's neck.

"Everyone in the nursery," Ann explained. "Apparently, Hova liked to brag about how wonderful you are, how you're the most romantic, affectionate male in the colony. Everyone still believes that and I think they're right." Ann leaned her head back against his shoulder.

"You don't mind, do you? I mean… I'm not moving too fast, am I? Zoc asked, a note of almost childlike worry in his voice.

"Why would you think that?" Ann gently asked, turning so she could face him.

"When Hova and I started dating, things seemed to go a lot slower, but with you… I've been in love with you for so long, thinking it would never work, and now that I can finally let you know how I feel, I just don't want to let you out of my arms. But I don't want to rush you," Zoc softly explained, taking Ann's face in his hands and gently kissing her on the forehead.

"I think we've both been waiting just as long to be able to admit our feelings to each other. Don't worry about moving too fast-- I'll let you know if you do, although I doubt that will ever happen," Ann whispered, wrapping her arms around Zoc's neck and kissing him once more.

There was a sudden knock at the door, and Ann and Zoc reluctantly let go of each other. Glaring at the door, Ann irritably asked, "Why is it that every time we kiss, someone has to knock on the door?"

"They're probably just trying to drive you crazy, or it could be time to leave. Once we get home, I know the perfect place we can go that no one should bother us," Zoc said. He gave Ann a quick kiss on the cheek, shrunk himself and went into the rose on the headband.

Very carefully, Ann put on the headband and answered the door. Zoc had been right: it was a man with a cart to take the students' luggage down to be loaded on the bus they were taking to the airport.

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	17. Chapter 17

Doreen picked Ann up at the airport and drove her home. When they got to the house, Doreen said, "You can take your bags in later; you have to come see who our new neighbor is."

Quickly coming up with an excuse so she could let Zoc out of the headband and make sure he was alright before Doreen drug her off to go visiting, Ann said, "Okay, just let me run to the bathroom first."

"All right, but try to hurry," Doreen conceded, sounding like she was excited about something but trying to hide it.

Ann wondered who the new neighbor could be that Doreen was so exited, but pushed it to the back of her mind as she headed into the basement. She carefully set the headband down and told Zoc he could come out.

Zoc stepped out of the headband, made himself bigger and said with notable regret, "I suppose this means I can't take you back to the nest with me. Hope's going to want to see you."

"Yes," Ann confirmed, just as sadly, "but I should have time later. Besides, once Lucas hears we found the records, he'll want to find out what they say. You still have them, right?"

Zoc glanced down at the headband and, within moments, the file appeared by it; he picked it up. "Do you want me to leave them here?" he asked, holding the file up.

"No," Ann said firmly. "I don't want to take any chance that anyone else might see them. Take them with you, but no reading them without me."

"Don't worry, I won't. I'll see you later," Zoc said, giving Ann a quick kiss before heading towards the tunnel entrance.

Ann said her goodbye, then headed back out to where Doreen was waiting on the front porch.

"So who's the new neighbor? You seem exited about it," Ann asked as she and Doreen walked next door.

Doreen just smiled and said, knowingly, "You'll see."

They got to the front door and Doreen knocked. Ann's mouth dropped open slightly when her boss, Elnora, answered the door.

"You bought the house?" Ann asked after a moment of stunned surprise. "You're the new neighbor?"

"Yes and of course not-- I could never leave the antique shop," Elnora said, smiling. "I called the people selling the house the day you told me about the safe. The realtors told me they had someone who was interested in the house. I knew I couldn't let anyone else get it, so I made them a better offer. It's been killing me not telling you, especially with how disappointed you were when you thought someone else had bought it, but I needed the time to get all the details worked out, and the week you were gone to get the furniture moved in without you seeing it." Elnora smiled a little wider as she stepped out of the doorway.

Ann stepped in to the living room and gasped. The room was filled with antique furniture-- a couch, love seat and chairs, all upholstered with dark green velvet and beautifully hand-carved wood; and end tables with a matching coffee table. Before Ann had left, Elnora had told her some people were coming in to look at furniture, but they wouldn't have a lot of time, so they wouldn't be able to look at it all; she had asked Ann what furniture she liked, to help her decide what to show the people. This was the furniture Ann had said was her favorite.

"You're going to let me stay here?" Ann asked, barely able to believe what she was seeing.

Elnora smiled again. "Better than that-- once you sign this paperwork, the house belongs to you," she announced, picking up some papers off of the coffee table.

After a moment of stunned silence, Ann finally asked, "But why? You know about the safe; why would you put the money into buying the house and then just give it to me?"

"Because you shouldn't be living in someone else's basement," Elnora gently explained. "You deserve a nice place of your own, and when we get together for the holidays this will be a lot nicer than the apartment above the shop. I was going to leave it to you in my will, but I don't want you to have to deal with all the details when I die. This saves you some of that trouble. Besides, I don't have any family left, and you're the only friend I have that's younger than me. When I die, you'll get everything anyway, so why not go ahead and give you some of it now? You certainly need it more than I do."

Ann dropped on to the couch, skirt rustling, too shocked by what she was hearing to respond right away. Trying to fight back the tears that were running down her face, Ann finally murmured, "Elnora, I … I don't even know how to begin to thank you for all this. I can't believe you would do this for me."

Elnora sat down next to Ann and hugged her. "Don't worry about it," she dismissed. "Knowing that you're happy is all the thanks I need. Now come see the rest of the house." She stood.

As Ann stood up and looked at Doreen, she asked, "How long have you known about this?"

"Just since the day you left," she replied. "Elnora called me and told me what was going on and asked if Fred and I could help."

"You'll still need to bring most of your furniture over," Elnora informed ann. "All we got in here is the living room furniture and one other room."

"What other room?" Ann asked, unable to think of any other furniture Elnora had asked her about before she had left.

Elnora just smiled at her and said, "You'll see."

Elnora and Doreen showed Ann around the house. It was a good-sized house with a large kitchen straight back from the living room. At the left end of the kitchen was a doorway that led into a large room with a fire place at one end and another doorway on the wall towards the front of the house. Ann gasped as she entered the room-- it was a large office with built-in bookshelves that went up to the ceiling on three of the walls.

"This is perfect," Ann sighed, smiling.

"That's what I said when I first saw it," Doreen agreed. "I know how much you love your books; with all these shelves, you may even have room to get more."

They showed Ann to the basement. It had three rooms, including a laundry room; the other two had carpeted floors. Then they showed her the upstairs level. There were three spacious bedrooms and then a large master bedroom. Ann gasped as she walked into the master bedroom. There was a beautiful antique bedroom set, with a canopy bed, two dressers and a large standing mirror. It was a set that someone had brought into the shop a couple of weeks after Ann had started working there; Ann remembered that she had told Elnora it was the most beautiful set she had ever seen. The bed had roses carved into the cherry wood, so that it looked like they were growing across the ends of the bed and up the posts. This same pattern decorated the dressers, running up the corners from top to bottom and around the mirror. What surprised her even more was the way the room had been painted-- the walls where mint green with pink rose border; the bed had a bed spread and throw pillows that matched the walls.

Ann turned to look at Elnora and Doreen and breathily asked, "How did you know…?"

"Your mother told me," Doreen explained. "We had been talking about the house you were going to move into and she told me you had always wanted a room with mint green walls and pink roses. After all the paperwork was done, she was going to have someone keep you away from the house for a day and have me come over and help her paint your room.

"This room needed repainted anyway and Elnora asked me if I had any idea what you would like." Doreen hugged Ann as tears started to run down the young woman's face.

After fighting back the tears, Ann whispered, "Thank you for everything."

"Don't worry about it," Doreen dismissed. "Elnora did most of it; I just told her a few minor details. At least now I don't have to worry about you moving somewhere where I can't keep an eye on you. Now let's go show you the rest of the place."

All that was left was the attic, which was just one large room; the garage; and the back yard, which had an open in-ground swimming pool, a solid wooden fence that was a good eight feet high and bushes all the way around inside of it.

"The old neighbors hated the idea of people being able to see into their yard. I think they got a little carried away," Doreen said, looking at the fence. "Maybe we could tear down this fence and put something a little more normal in."

"No, I like the trees," Ann replied. "It makes it feel almost like you're in a forest out here, and if we mess with the fence, it could kill the trees." Although all that was semi-true, the full truth was she loved the thought that, with the fence and bushes, no one could see in, so she and Zoc would be able to enjoy the pool without worrying about him being seen; she would also be able to swim without worrying about being attacked by dragonfly larva.

After they had finished showing Ann around her new house, Elnora left and Doreen and Ann headed back to the Nickle's house.

A few minutes later, Ann was in the basement packing some of her things when she heard Lucas burst in and ask Doreen if she was home yet, then come running down to the basement.

"So did you find anything?" Lucas asked as he ran into the room. It was pretty clear that he had a lot of energy that he devoted to irritating Ann to let off, and was wasting no time in doing so.

"Yes," Ann answered smoothly.

"What did you find?" Lucas asked impatiently.

"A file full of records from the lab," she said vaguely, folding a peasant blouse.

"Well, what did they say?" Lucas nearly whined. "Did they mention the ants?"

"Yes," Ann confirmed. "The ants and the wasps."

"What did it say about them?" Lucas asked, sounding a little frustrated that Ann wasn't telling him more.

"I don't know," Ann said with a shrug. "I haven't had time to look at them yet."

"Why not? Were you and Zoc too busy making out to look at them?" Lucas asked sarcastically.

"How many times do I have to tell you to stop bothering her?" Zoc asked, suddenly appearing at the end of the couch, making Ann and Lucas both jump.

Ann looked Zoc in the eyes. "I have an idea. It'll either make him quit or make it worse," she announced, grinning at him.

Zoc nodded his head slightly, picking up on Ann's idea easily, as he walked over to Ann. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a short but passionate kiss. As they broke the kiss and looked over at Lucas, they both started laughing at the look of complete shock on his face.

After a minute of shocked silence, Lucas smiled and informed Ann, "I told you he liked you."

"I know: you were right," Ann conceded.

"So are those the records?" Lucas asked, pointing to the file Zoc had laid on the arm of the couch.

"Yes-- we can all look at them at my house," Ann said, unable to keep from smiling as she thought about the house.

"Your house?" Zoc asked, confused.

Ann grinned and told Zoc about the house.

When Ann had finished her story, to say that Zoc was happy for her would be a complete understatement. He wrapped her arms around her and embraced her tightly, laughing as he kissed her on both cheeks and on her neck and briefly on her lips. "At least now we won't have to worry about what happens when you move out of the basement," Zoc sighed, letting Ann go.

"How long will it take to get a tunnel dug into my basement?" Ann asked.

"No more than a day if I use my staff," Zoc told her. "But you won't be going through it until it's been reinforced, and that could take about a week since most of the workers are preparing the nest for winter."

"Okay, you two can discuses how you're going to get together to make out later! I want to know what's in those records," Lucas interrupted impatiently.

"Oh, fine. I suppose if you'll help carry a load of my stuff over to the house, we can go look at them now," Ann sighed as she pulled the earrings out of her carry-on.

"You're going to move in right away?" Zoc asked delicately.

"Yes-- there's already a bed over there and since this stuff is already packed, I thought it would be easier to just start staying over there, beginning tonight," Ann explained, putting the earrings on.

"Are you sure you shouldn't wait until I have the new tunnel cleared?" Zoc asked, sounding more than a little concerned.

"I'm sure I'll be okay for one night without being able to call you," Ann assured, then smiled at him. "Although if you're that worried about me, you could always just stay at the house until you're done with the tunnel."

"I suppose that would work," Zoc relented, tenderly wrapping his arm around Ann's waist.

Ann grinned as she wrapped her arms around his neck and replied, "I thought you might like that idea."

"Oh, come on-- can't you two go more than five minutes without having your arms around each other? I know I wanted you two to get together, but I thought we were going to look at the records sometime in this decade!" Lucas whined.

"Alright, alright-- let's go," Ann laughed as she and Zoc disentangled themselves from each other.

Zoc shrunk himself and Ann helped him into the earring, then she and Lucas grabbed a load of her things and headed over to her house.

After briefly showing Zoc the house, they all sat down in the sitting room in front of the fireplace, and Ann started to look through the papers.

"The lab was built in nineteen fifteen," she began, skimming the papers. "The scientists were using highly advanced chemicals to genetically alter several different types of animals and insects, trying to make them intelligent enough that they could be used as spies during the war, so humans wouldn't have to risk their lives and the enemy wouldn't suspect something like that to be a spy. After the first year, they cut it down to just using insects, because they were smaller and would be able to sneak into places without being seen and with exoskeletons, they wouldn't be hurt as easily.

"Eventually, they got it to work on some ants, but it had some side affects they hadn't wanted. Instead of _just _having exoskeletons, the ants developed a layer of skin and muscle over it. They also aged at the same rate that humans do. Someone suggested instead of trying again with ants, they use something that could fly; they eventually decided to use wasps and made a few changes to make sure that their exoskeleton didn't end up like the ants. They never were able to work out the aging problem though.

"By nineteen eighteen, when World War One ended, they were just waiting for the ants and wasps to mature enough to start training them."

"But how could they have done all that back then? I didn't think that type of technology was around then?" Lucas asked.

"According to these records, the technology was there, but only people who worked on this project for the government knew about it," Ann explained.

"Okay." Lucas said then Ann continued reading the papers to them.

"When World War Two started, the program had petty much been forgotten. The ants and wasps where still kept in the lab, but for the most part they had been left alone since the end of the war. Once the new war started, one of the people who took care of them suggested they be trained and used in the war effort. They had about a hundred ants at that time: a dozen from the first batch including a queen, the rest were pupas that had been born within the last year, and there were a similar number of wasps.

"They started training them. Everything had already been set up so they could communicate with the ants and wasps. After a couple of years of training them, the scientists were ready to send them out, but one of the ants said he wouldn't go. It was one the scientists thought was deformed because of his large pointed head. One of the scientists took him to another room to try to convince him to go, kind of like a little kid being disciplined.

"The room the scientist and ant went into was one they had been using to study a crystal that a soldier had brought back from Europe. According to a legend it had been given to a monastery by a dragon who one of the monks had help and was said to have magical powers that the monk was able to use, the scientists had been tying to find out what type of crystal it was. The man set the ant down next to the crystal and tried to convince him to go, but that just made the ant mad and he started throwing pieces of the crystal, that had been left after a piece had been broken off to be tested at the man. Then suddenly a stream of light shot out of a piece the ant had in his hand and hit the mans coat catching it on fire.

"After that, _everything _was put on hold. The scientists started having the ants try to figure out how the crystal worked. They eventually found out that only the ant with the large head could use it. As it turned out, the reason his head was shaped so strangely was because part of his brain had grown more than it did in most of the other ants—it was that part of his brain that made it possible for him to control the crystal.

"But by the time they had learned all of that, the war had ended and the scientists had several hundred ants. They decided they would keep the wasps, but as far as the ants went, only keep the queen, wizard—that's what they called the ant who could control the crystal—a few workers and the pupas that they could tell would be able to use the crystal and kill the rest. Apparently, one of the ants must have overheard them discussing it, because the next night the ants they were planning on keeping and several younger pupas, including a newly-hatched queen, all disappeared. The next day, the rest were killed.

"A few days later, the queen and one of the workers came back, but they were the size of humans, which was something the scientists assumed the wizard had learned to do with the crystal. When the queen and worker found out the others had been killed, they started tearing the lab apart, destroying most of the equipment. When the security guards got there, they killed the worker and injured the queen, who had stolen the crystal, but she escaped. Somehow, in the scuffle, some of the equipment caught fire and ended up burning the whole place down.

"A few days later, the scientists hired an exterminator to come in and kill anything near where the lab had been and made a deal with him that if he didn't ask any questions, they would pay him a large sum of money every ten years to come in and retreat the area. They also told him as long as his family continued the business, they would continue to pay them as well for at least the next seventy years. There was just one catch—if they missed even one acre, they wouldn't get paid." Ann took a few deep breaths, winded from talking so long.

"What was the exterminator's name?" Lucas asked.

Ann flipped through the papers for a minute. "Richard Stanley Beals," she read. Zoc and Lucas both stiffened for a beat. "That would explain why Stan was so persistent. You know, it never made sense to me why he would have a kid sign the contract, because your parents wouldn't have had to pay him."

"So does the report say anything else?" Lucas questioned.

"Yes—after the first ten years, the scientists came back and tested some of the insects in the area. Not only did they find out the ants had survived, but the wasps had apparently escaped, too. They also found out the chemicals that had been released in to the ground when the lab burned, were causing some of the other insects in the area to become more intelligent. Pretty much anything that spent at least the first part of its life underground was affected. They also found that if humans were exposed to the chemicals, it would have some minor side affects on them, but it was nothing noticeable so they eventually sold off the land.

"The only other thing mentioned is that a few years ago, the exterminator was attacked by the wasps, although they think the ants were involved, too, because what happened to the exterminator looked like something that could have been done with the stolen crystal."

"But it wasn't the crystal; it was one of Zoc's potions," Lucas pointed out.

"It's said the potions were created by the first wizard, so that if there was ever no wizard in the colony, the colony's ants would still have the magic available to them," Zoc clarified. "Later, he realized if the young wizards learned to make potions first, it was easier for them to learn to use the crystal for the same things; before, that it took years and years of training to teach them to use it."

"So does any of the rest of this sound similar to the colony's history?" Ann asked Zoc.

"The oldest member of the colony was in her eighties and she died about a year ago," Zoc explained. "When Lucas first suggested that we weren't 'normal,' I tried to ask her about the colony's history, because nothing in our history books go back more than about sixty years. She flat-out refused to tell me anything, saying that it was better that it be forgotten. The next oldest ants in the colony are in their sixties. I asked them; some of them didn't remember anything before living in the nest, and others said they vaguely remember having to run away from something evil. None of the older ants had ever wanted to talk about it, so they weren't sure what it was they were remembering."

"Okay, that was just a few papers out of that file; what else is in there?" Lucas asked.

"That was just a short history of the place; the rest of these papers look like records of each experiment they were doing and the results," Ann observed, flipping through the papers. She stopped when she found a pile of black and white pictures of some of the ants; she looked through them, then carefully passed them to Zoc.

Zoc started to look through them, and then suddenly stopped, drawing in a sharp breath as he stared at one of the pictures. "That's my great grandfather," he whispered, not looking away from the photo. "Sometimes, he would help my father train the young wizards, and he always spent extra time training me. He was killed with the others when the Cloudbreather came." He turned the photo to show Ann and Lucas a picture of a wizard, laying it on the ground between him and the two humans. The resemblance between the ant in the photo and Zoc was striking.

"I can't believe I didn't remember that," Zoc said suddenly.

"What?" Ann and Lucas both asked at the same time.

"Once, when he was training me, I asked him why I didn't have a great grandmother. He made

me promise not to tell anyone, and then told me my great grandmother was the Ant Mother, that she had had to leave to save the rest of our colony but had never come back. I asked him to tell me more about her, but he had other things he had to do. He said that as long as I didn't tell anyone about it, he would show me a hidden room above his home that had books he had written about our colony, and books that were about my great grandmother, and tell me about her later. That was the day before the Cloudbreather came; I guess I'd just never thought about it again after that," Zoc murmured, looking at the photo again.

"Where did he live? Do you think that whoever lives there now would let us look for the hidden room?" Lucas asked.

"He lived in the root I live in now," Zoc answered. "He carved it out himself."

"Well, then let's go look for the hidden room!" Lucas cried, jumping up.

"Okay," Zoc agreed, standing. He pulled Ann up, then he shrunk himself so they could go back over to the Nickle's house.

When they got back to the basement, Zoc shrunk them all and they headed into the nest and to Zoc's home. When they arrived, Ann asked, "Do you have any idea where this hidden room should be?"

"All he told me was that it was above his home," Zoc answered as he walked up one of the walls, onto the ceiling and started tapping it with his antennas.

"What are you doing?" Lucas asked.

"Looking for any place where the ceiling sounds different, like there might be something carved out above it," Zoc explained as he continued to move around the ceiling. After a few minutes he moved into one of the other rooms, and Ann and Lucas followed. After a minute, he stopped for a second. "I think I found something-- it sounds hollow on the other side." He continued to search the ceiling.

"So what are you doing now? Can't you just punch a hole through the ceiling so we can see what's up there?" Lucas asked impatiently.

Zoc explained, "If I try to go straight through the ceiling and there's anything up there, it could be irreplaceably damaged. There should be a hidden door somewhere; I just have to find it."

After a few more minutes of searching, Zoc suddenly grabbed the edge of what looked like a crack in the wood and pulled on it. It came loose and swung open, revealing a dark passage way above it. Zoc climbed down the wall, grabbed his staff and called for Spindle. Spindle flew in, and he and Zoc headed up in to the passage way; a minute later they came back down. "You have to come see this," he announced, a wide grin on his face.

"How are we going to get up there?" Lucas asked.

Zoc braced his legs in the opening, reached down and said, "I can lift you up."

Ann walked over and took his hands trustingly. Easily, Zoc lifted her up in to the opening and set her down on the floor next to the opening. As Zoc helped Lucas up, Ann looked around the room. It was about the same size as the main room below it, and had a few carved wooden boxes stacked around it, as well as a shelf of books.

The trio walked over to one of the boxes and Zoc opened it. Inside were piles of papers. Zoc pulled a few out and looked them over, announcing, "They're recipes for potions-- some of them I've never even heard of before."

Next to that box was the shelf of books. Laying aside the potion papers, Zoc picked up one of the books and flipped through it. "It's a journal, written by my great grandfather," Zoc said in awe. He looked through a few more books and said, "It looks like that's what all of them are."

All of a sudden, Zoc's antennas twitched and Ann and Lucas could hear someone yelling above ground. "That was my mom wasn't it?" Lucas asked with regret.

"Yes-- she's calling you for dinner," Zoc confirmed, taking a few of the journals and setting them by the entrance. He carefully helped Ann and Lucas down, then handed the journals down to Ann.

"You'll tell me what you find in those, right?" Lucas asked as Zoc climbed down.

"Of course," Zoc said. "Now let's get you home before your mother starts wondering where you've been."

"Lucas, tell your mom I've had a long day and am too tired to come over for dinner," Ann said, catching Lucas by the elbow as he started to dart out of the room. "It really has been a long day, but I'm sure Hope will be disappointed if I don't go see her before I go home." She let Lucas go, and the young boy walked out of the room to wait as Zoc and Ann said their goodbyes.

"You're probably right-- she was asking if you would be coming over today," Zoc informed Ann as Lucas left.

"Did you tell her about us?" Ann murmured.

"No, I thought you might want to tell her. Although Lucas's reaction was entertaining, we could try something similar with Hope and see how she reacts," Zoc said with a mischievous grin.

"That could be fun. I guess we'll just have to wait until we're both there to tell her." Smiling, Ann softly kissed Zoc on the cheek. "I'll meet you in the nursery after you take Lucas home." So saying, Ann left for the nursery.

About fifteen minutes later, Ann was helping Hope with the pupas and willing herself not to smile as Hope kept telling her that she should tell Zoc that she was in love with him. Hope finally stopped as Zoc came in to the room.

Ann looked at Zoc and sighed, "Does your sister ever give up when she wants something?"

"No," Zoc deadpanned as he walked over next to Ann.

Ann laid the pupa she had been holding back in its bed. "Well, then I guess there's only one way to keep her from driving me crazier than I already am," she said as she turned back to Zoc, grinning.

Zoc smiled, wrapping his arms around her waist, and Ann wrapped her arms around his neck; the pair kissed with all the romance in their bodies. As they pulled apart, slightly breathless, Hope just smiled and said, "Well, it's about time!"

"Aww, she's not near as entertaining as Lucas was." Ann teased.

"True, but she did already know that we were in love with each other," Zoc gently reminded.

"You two finally got together and Lucas found out before I did?" Hope asked, trying to sound disappointed although she couldn't help but smile.

"We would have told you first, but Lucas kept bothering me about it, so we just kissed and he looked so funny-- he was completely shocked and didn't look quite sure how to react for a minute," Ann told her.

"So, how did you end up finding out you love each other?" Hope asked, glancing from her brother to her friend and back again.

"We'll tell you all about it tomorrow, Hope," Zoc sighed. "We've had a long day, we're both tired and there are some things we need to discuss before we are too tired to think straight."

"Alright, but can I tell May and Lilly when they get back?" Hope agreed with a sigh.

"Wait until tomorrow," Zoc told his sister.

"Why?" Hope asked.

"Because he still thinks there will be some sacrifice we'll have to make to be together that I won't be able to make," Ann said before Zoc could speak. "He's wrong of course, but we'll go have our talk before anyone else finds out-- just to make him happy."

"Oh, alright-- go have your talk, but I want to know everything that's happened over the last week tomorrow and no later!" Hope said, complete with wagging finger.

"Okay," Ann agreed, letting Zoc lead her out of the room with an arm snaked around her waist.

Zoc led Ann out to the pond. Ann glanced at the water, shuddering slightly at the memory of the dragonfly larva attacking her.

Zoc shifted his arm from around her waist to her shoulders and, gently nuzzling the side of her face, murmured, "Don't worry-- I won't let anything hurt you. Besides, it's too late in the year-- the dragonflies are gone."

"I know," Ann whispered back, bringing her right hand up to rest on Zoc's shoulder, "but it makes my leg hurt just thinking about it."

Zoc suddenly picked Ann up and carried her up on to a large rock at the edge of the pond, setting her down as if she were the Ark of the Covenant. Ann sat down and looked out across the pond. It was just after sunset; the moon and stars were coming out, but there was still a thin line of pink and purple on the western horizon.

Zoc set his staff down and sat down next to Ann, interlacing his three fingers with her five. "You know how crazy this is?" Zoc asked after watching the sky for a moment.

"I know, but I still think we can make it work," Ann insisted before turning and kissing Zoc.

Zoc gently brushed his fingers over Ann's cheek, then wrapped his arm around her and laid down, pulling her with him. They laid there, looking at the stars and talking for hours. Ann quickly found that Zoc seemed to have thought of every little sacrifice and difficulty that they would have to deal with for them to be together; she also found that she could counter each trial and tribulation Zoc could throw at her. By the time they started to doze off in each other's arms, Ann had finally convinced Zoc there was nothing she wouldn't give up if it meant spending the rest of her life in his arms.

* * *

The paragraph where Zoc carries Ann up on to the rock and the two sentences after that is the very short dream that inspired this whole story.

Please leave a review.


	18. Chapter 18

Special thanks to my amazing beta reader supergeek17 for coming up with a name for the head nurse as well as the ant's language.

* * *

"Ann, wake up," Zoc whispered, gently running his hand over Ann's back. 

"I'm too tired to wakeup," Ann mumbled, tightening her arms around Zoc's thorax.

"You can go back to sleep in a little while, but I want you to see something," Zoc said, gently brushing the hair out of Ann's face.

"When I go back to sleep, will I still be in your arms?" Ann asked sleepily.

"Of course," Zoc gently assured. "I just want you to see this. You're not much of a morning person, are you?"

"Most of the time I am," Ann clarified, opening her eyes and lifting her head from Zoc's chest just a few inches. "I guess I'm just still tired from yesterday. So what did you want me to see?"

"Roll over and look to the right," Zoc told her.

Ann rolled over so she was on her side and looked where Zoc had instructed and smiled widely. The sun was just starting to come up, and there was a line of bright orange starting to appear on the horizon. "It's beautiful," Ann sighed.

"It'll get even better in a few minutes," Zoc whispered, wrapping his arm around Ann, pulling her back against his thorax and wrapping his hand around hers.

They lay there watching the sunrise for about half an hour before falling back to sleep.

Ann was abruptly jolted awake as she was suddenly shoved off of the rock; she landed hard, skinning up her knees and hurting one wrist. Then she heard Zoc scream, while his staff landed a few feet from her. She looked over her shoulder and was horrified to see a large spider with its fangs sunk into Zoc's back and abdomen. Despite the spider's grip, Zoc was fighting for all he was worth and screaming bloody genocide. Whether these screams came from pain or his attempts at fighting the spider off was unclear.

Ann desperately looked around for anything she could use as a weapon; when she couldn't find anything else, she grabbed Zoc's staff and was about to try to get back up onto the rock when the crystal started to glow intensely. She realized what was happening just in time to aim the staff at the spider before a stream of light shot out of it. The blast was powerful enough to knock her back several feet. As she landed on her back, she sat up and could see Zoc laying supine on the ground; the spider that had attacked him was laying a good distance away and had a large hole through it.

Ann ran over to Zoc, tears running down her face when she saw the amount of blood pumping out of a large hole in his back between the two small spikes. A second hole was in his abdomen, although it wasn't bleeding nearly as badly. She quickly tore off several strips from her skirt and started trying to bandage the wounds.

Zoc looked up at her, and weakly asked, "Are you all right?"

"Of course I'm not all right!" Ann wailed. "You're laying here bleeding to death—how could I possibly be all right?" She tied the last bandage, trying to fight back tears. "We have to get you back to the nest."

Very, _very_, carefully, Ann helped him up and, using Zoc's staff like a walking stick, they headed back to the nest. However, when they got inside the tunnel, Zoc stopped and leaned against the wall, weakly sliding down it until he was sitting.

"Zoc, come on—we have to get you back home," Ann said urgently, tugging slightly on Zoc's hand. "We have to get you to the healing potions."

"No, I can't keep walking," Zoc said, struggling to take deep breaths, "it will only make the venom spread faster."

Ann's heart stopped—she hadn't even thought about the venom...

Zoc gently reached out and took her hand, murmuring, "It's okay—just go to my home, and on the shelf at the back of the room where I store the potions is an orange one. It will counteract the venom." Zoc weakly brought Ann's hand to his lips and softly kissed her fingers. "I'll be fine, just hurry."

Nodding as she squeezed Zoc's hand, Ann ran through the tunnels as fast as her legs could carry her until she ran into a group of soldier ants. Rather breathlessly, she quickly told them what had happened and where Zoc was; they said they would take him to his home, telling Ann what tunnels they would take so she could meet them. Calling her thanks over her shoulder, Ann darted off as the ants went in the opposite direction.

Moments later, Ann arrived at Zoc's home, found the potion and raced back through the tunnels. When she caught up with the ants she'd met earlier, they were carrying him in a six-man carry, three on each side. Seeing Ann, the soldier ants set him down. Kneeling next him, Ann uncorked the potion bottle and, working her arm under Zoc's head, gently lifted his head up slightly and let him drink from the bottle.

"Go get Hope… Tell her… what happened," Zoc ordered weakly, struggling to stay conscious. "You'll need her help… you've never dealt with an… injury… like this."

Ann nodded as she bit her lower lip hard enough to draw blood, too scared and upset to trust herself to talk, then bolted down to the nurseries to find Hope. She quickly searched the nurseries that Hope normally worked in, but couldn't find her. She saw the head nurse; a military-esque female ant named Kalema, and asked her where Hope was. As expected (but not looked forward to), Kalema asked what was wrong. When Ann told her what had happened, Kalema told her where Hope was working and told her she would head up and start taking care of Zoc until they got there.

Nodding and breathlessly thanking Kalema, Ann ran to the room she could only pray Hope was in.

When Hope saw Ann burst into the room, she handed the pupa she had been taking care of to one of the other nurses and ran over to Ann. "What's wrong?" she asked worriedly, sensing Ann's immense distress.

"Zoc's hurt very badly—he was attacked by a spider," Ann told her, trying not to start sobbing.

Hope's eyes widened with horror. "He's strong; I'm sure he'll be fine," Hope consoled, sounding like she was trying to reassure herself as well as Ann. "Where is he?"

"Some soldiers were taking him back to his home, and Kalema is already headed up there," Ann told her friend.

"Then let's get up there--quickly!" Hope said urgently, pulling Ann out of the room by the wrist.

When they got to Zoc's home a few minutes later, Zoc had slipped into unconsciousness and was lying on his bed; Kalema was setting out a large pile of bandages.

"How bad is it?" Ann asked, glancing over at Zoc's face. He looked like a train wreck, and even then, a train wreck didn't make her want to sob hysterically. Dirt streaked his face, antennae and mandibles, and mingled with blood and traces of the spider's saliva. Even though he was unconscious, every few seconds he would grimace and moan, like a sick, twisted pulse.

"The spider cut about halfway through his heart, in his thorax, and nicked it in his abdomen," Kalema announced minimally as she continued to lay out supplies like a seasoned chief surgeon, "but if we work fast enough I think we can keep him alive."

She addressed herself to the nurse and the human female: "Hope, get the healing potions; Ann, I need you to keep light pressure on the cut side of his heart—not too hard, just enough to slow the bleeding—until we can get the healing potion on it."

Ann quickly walked over to the bed, tucking the ruffled lower edges of her sleeves up inside the rest of the sleeves. She hesitated a moment. Blood had never bothered her much before, but the sheer amount and the fact that it was Zoc who was bleeding made her stomach turn. As she tried to suppress a gag, Ann envisioned Zoc's comforting blue eyes, the sound of his voice telling her everything would be okay… She still couldn't help but feel like nothing was okay right now.

"Just carefully slide your hand into the wound," Kalema instructed. "You should be able to feel his heart beating and where the blood is coming out."

Ann took a deep breath and carefully did as she was told, fighting back tears when Zoc flinched and moaned miserably as Ann's right hand entered the wound. "I'm sorry…" she murmured softly, lightly resting her free hand on his shoulder.

Hope brought out several potions and Kalema grabbed one. "Ann, move your hand but you will have to put it back as soon as I tell you to," she commanded as she scraped out a handful of what looked like the same clay-like healing potion Zoc had used on Ann's leg when the dragonfly larva had attacked her. "You'll have to hold the potion in place until it starts working enough to slow the bleeding."

"Okay," Ann replied, carefully but quickly moving her hand. She gently took Zoc's hand in her free one when he started moaning as Kalema applied the healing potion and told Ann to put her hand back.

By the time Hope and Kalema had bandaged the wound on Zoc's abdomen, the bleeding in his back had slowed enough for them to put more of the healing potion, and then a bandage, on it.

"All we can do now is wait," Kalema said, laying aside the unused bandages.

"Now that we have the bleeding almost completely stopped and the healing potions on him… he should be alright, shouldn't he?" Ann slowly asked, dreading the answer.

"With the damage the spider venom may have done and the amount of blood he's lost, there's no way to know for sure," Kalema explained. "If he regains consciousness, he'll probably survive, but until then there's no way to know for sure."

"Don't worry-- he's strong, and he's got far too much to live for; he'll pull through this," Hope reassured. "Now let's get cleaned up-- it's rather difficult to comfort someone when you're covered in blood and can't touch them."

Ann reluctantly followed her out of the room, glancing over her shoulder at her severally wounded lover.

After they had cleaned the blood off, Hope hugged Ann. That simple, warm, comforting gesture was all it took for Ann to break down and start crying. "Hope, what if he doesn't make it?" she sobbed into her friend's shoulder. "I don't know how I'd survive with out him."

"Don't even think that way," Hope said, though, from the sound of her voice, it was clear that she would have been crying too if she could. "We just have to believe he'll be okay."

Ann brought her hand up to brush the tears off of her face, but stopped when she noticed blood on her hand. She gasped softly and stiffened hard; for a moment, the blood was Zoc's all over again.

Hope noticed it, too. "You're hurt," she gasped. "How bad is it?"

"It's just a little scrape, I'll be fine," Ann dismissed, her mind still on the sight of Zoc's blood.

"We should still put a healing potion and bandage on it. Are you hurt anywhere else?" Hope asked, taking Ann's hand to look at it.

Ann gasped as pain shot through her wrist when Hope moved it. "Yeah," she confirmed. "I think I sprained my wrist, and my knees got a little scraped up when I fell." Hope let go of her hand and led her back into Zoc's room.

"What exactly happened?" Hope asked as she started wiping off Ann's hand.

"Wait until I get back from cleaning up-- I want to hear this, too," Kalema called over her shoulder as she left the room.

When the head nurse returned, Ann started telling them what had happened starting from when she had been shoved off the rock. When she told them about using Zoc's staff, they both looked completely shocked.

"But that's impossible-- only a wizard can use it," Kalema sputtered.

"How did you now how to use it?" Hope asked gently.

"I didn't," Ann admitted, trying to fight back more tears as she recalled the gut-wrenching sound of Zoc's scream. "I was just so desperate to find some way to help him, when I picked it up I was going to try to beat the spider off with it, try to get it to let go. But as soon as I picked up the staff, it started glowing."

"Well, I don't know why it happened, but it may have saved his life," Kalema announced. "Once one of those hunting spiders gets its fangs into something, it's almost impossible to get it to let go again. I've only ever heard of a couple of ants who have survived an attack like that."

Ann gasped in emotional pain. "Please don't say that again," she whimpered. Hope wrapped her arm around Ann's shoulder.

"_Qemso manai_," Kalema said quietly in the ant language Ann had heard several of the older ants use. "I'm sorry. Please continue."

Taking a deep breath, Ann finished telling them what had happened, and Kalema left, instructing Ann and Hope to make sure one of them was constantly watching over Zoc in case he woke up, adding that she would be back later to check on him.

"You haven't had anything to eat today, have you?" Hope asked Ann after Kalema left.

"No," Ann said as she carefully sat down on the bed next to Zoc and took his hand in hers. She never once looked away from his face, which tightened as a wave of pain washed over him.

"I'm going to go get you something to eat," Hope announced. "Will you be okay here by yourself?"

"I'll be fine… but I don't think I could make myself eat anything right now," Ann murmured, softly squeezing Zoc's hand. It was true: the memory of the whole attack, and especially the knowledge that Zoc may not survive, was making her stomach roll.

"I'll still bring you something, so it'll be here when you want it-- you'll have to eat sooner or later," Hope informed Ann, and then left.

Once Hope had left the room, Ann leaned down and kissed Zoc's cheek. "Please don't leave me," she whispered as she surrendered to the tears that seemed to refuse to stop. "Everything was finally going so right… I don't know what I'd do without you." Very carefully, so as not to disturb him or his wounds in any way, Ann laid down next to Zoc. She tried to stay awake, but was so emotionally exhausted she fell asleep within moments.

Ann woke up just as Hope and Kalema came into the room. She tried her hardest not to blush when Kalema raised an eye ridge at her as she got off of the bed and very, very, reluctantly let go of Zoc's hand.

"Sleep well?" Hope asked Ann.

"I didn't mean to," Ann stated haltingly. "How long was I asleep?"

"About three hours," Hope estimated. "After what you went through this morning, I think you needed it."

"I may have needed it, but I shouldn't have been asleep when I was supposed to be keeping an eye on him," Ann said, looking away from the two female ants and sounding more than a little upset with herself.

"Don't worry about it," Kalema dismissed as she began carefully checking Zoc's wounds. "All that matters is that someone is where he can get their attention if he wakes up, and you where certainly close enough that he wouldn't have had a problem waking you up. I assume the rumors are true, then?"

"What rumors?" Ann asked, a little confused.

"About the two of you being in love," Kalema explained.

Ann's mouth dropped open for second, completely unsure of what to say.

Luckily, Hope came to her rescue. "What rumors? I haven't heard anything like that," Hope said innocently.

"You're his sister-- no one's going to be spreading rumors about him when you're around," Kalema chided. "But everyone's noticed how much more time he spends helping in the nursery when Ann's there, the amount of time he spends with her. I had thought it was crazy until I saw how she reacted to him being hurt." Kalema looked directly at Ann. "So? Is it true?"

Sighing, Ann said, "Yes."

"Then he has a good reason to keep fighting to survive," Kalema said. Suddenly, she flicked one of Zoc's antennas with her finger, making him flinch and moan softly.

"What are you doing?" Ann asked, completely and thoroughly horrified. She darted to Zoc's side and gently took his hand in hers. "Can't you see that that hurts him?"

"I'm making sure he still has feeling in his antennae," Kalema explained, fingering the tip of Zoc's right antenna, then the left. "A spider's venom breaks its victim down into a liquid, but as long as he can still feel with his antennae, it means that the venom didn't spread into his head or brain and that he has a better chance of surviving, so long as it didn't severely damage any of his internal organs."

When the head nurse saw the worried look on Ann's face, she rested a hand on the human female's shoulder, adding, "The fact that he's still alive means there isn't much chance of that happening. There's no way to be sure until he wakes up, but I think he'll be okay. Now, I have other patients to see, but I'll be back in a few hours to check on him again. If he wakes up before I come back, send Hope after me." With a final sympathetic squeeze of Ann's shoulder, Kalema left the room.

"Do you think she's right, that he'll be okay?" Ann asked Hope.

"She knows what she's talking about," Hope reassured, resting her hand on Ann's shoulder. "If she says he should be all right, he probably will be. When he does wake up, I don't want you to be so starved that you're too weak to help take care of him. There's food on the table in the main room; go eat something, I'll keep an eye on him for a while."

Ann hesitated, looking at Zoc. "Go on," Hope said again. "I'll call you if he moves or looks like he might wake up."

"Okay," Ann agreed, reluctantly leaving the room. She glanced over her shoulder one more time at Zoc, grateful that she was leaving-- that way, Hope couldn't see her tears.

The next few hours seemed like decades to Ann. She sat next to Zoc, holding his hand until she couldn't stand sitting still any longer and then would pace around the room, praying that he would be okay.

When Kalema came back a few hours later, she checked Zoc's wounds and announced that they looked completely healed-- on the outside, at least-- and the bandages could be left off. Despite this happy news (Ann had let out a happy sob and hugged Hope very tightly), the rest of the day was the same, just waiting and praying hard that Zoc would wake up.

That evening, Ann had laid down next to Zoc and was just starting to doze off when his hand tightened around hers.

Ann looked at his face and tears of relief started running down her face when she saw he was awake and looking at her. "You're awake," she breathed.

"How long was I unconscious?" Zoc asked drowsily, closing his eyes.

"A little over ten hours," Ann said as she sat up. Had it only been that long…?

"And you stayed with me the whole time?" Zoc asked as he tried to turn onto his side and gave up with a weak, frustrated groan when he couldn't.

Ann got up and gently helped him turn onto his right side, careful not to disturb his wounds, saying, "Except for two times when Hope chased me out to get something to eat, I was always here. How are you feeling?"

"Completely miserable, but it could have been so much worse…" Zoc didn't need to specify what "so much worse" was in his eyes. "How I even managed to get away--"

He stopped suddenly, his eyes widening. "You used the staff, didn't you?" he breathed in disbelief.

"Yeah-- I don't know how, I just picked it up and it started glowing, so I aimed it at the spider…" Ann told him, unable to bring herself to add "that was attacking you" to the sentence's end.

"Zoc!" Hope cried as she rushed into the room. She quickly joined her brother and Ann, dropping to her knees next to her brother's bedside. "Praise the Mother you woke up." The relief in her voice was more than a little evident.

The rest of the evening was much more relaxed and less stressful for Ann and Hope, but immensely more frustrating for Zoc-- he hated people having it take care of him. Although there was no permanent damage from the spider venom, it had done some serious muscle damage that would take a couple of days to heal, making it difficult for Zoc to do much of anything besides being fussed over and taken care of by Ann and Hope.Although it did give them time to tell Hope what they had found in Washington and start reading Zoc and Hope's great grandfather's journals when Zoc was awake. The first was a much more detailed recounting of what they had read in the lab papers, as well as things like the development of the ant language that the ants had used so the humans wouldn't know what they were saying to each other.

Much later that night, Ann was starting to doze off in the chair she was sitting in next to Zoc's bed. Zoc reached over and gently rested his hand on Ann's. She jumped as she snapped awake. "Do you need me to get you something?" she asked.

"No, but I do think you should go home and get some sleep," Zoc told her.

"No," Ann flatly refused. "I'm not going to leave you until I'm sure you can take care of yourself."

"Hope can stay with me," Zoc assured. "You need sleep."

"I'll be fine," Ann shot back. "Plus, Hope left a while ago, while you were asleep." Ann told him.

"She left?" Zoc asked, sounding a little hurt that his sister would leave him.

"Only after I told her I wasn't going to leave you and there was no reason for her to lose sleep as long as I'm here," Ann reassured, sensing Zoc's hurt. "She eventually gave in."

"Fine, it's not worth arguing with you over it," Zoc sighed, smiling weakly. "I rarely win anyway. But there is one condition."

"And what's that?" Ann asked, arching an eyebrow.

"You have to get some sleep, too," Zoc told her, pulling the covers back a few inches.

Ann grinned. "I certainly can't complain about that," she murmured as she slipped into the bed She carefully laid her head on Zoc's chest as he pulled the blanket over her and wrapped his arm around her, weakly squeezing her shoulder. They were both asleep within minutes.

Ann woke up to Zoc gently rubbing her back. "Ann, you need to wake up," he whispered to her as he brought his other hand up to run his fingers over the back of her hand that was resting on his chest.

"Why?" Ann murmured through a haze of sleep, cuddling closer to Zoc.

"It's Monday-- you have your classes and you've been with me over twenty-four hours," Zoc explained, taking a deep breath after saying so much after such a long silence. "Doreen's going to notice you're missing."

"But I can't leave you," Ann protested.

"Hope will come and check on me. Not that I need it-- I'm feeling so much better," Zoc sighed.

"Sure you are?" Ann asked, lifting her head a bit. "Kalema said it would take a couple days for you to heal."

"Well, I say I'm just fine," Zoc said as he turned Ann onto her back and then kissed her as long as he could before he was forced to pull away for air.

When he pulled away, Ann announced, "And I say you're still weak from that venom."

"You're insulting my kissing now? Zoc asked, indignant and a little hurt.

"Of course not-- it's as wonderful as always. Just a little weaker than usual," Ann teased, smiling at him as she tightened her arms around him, pulling him down into another kiss.

"When you two are done, I need to check on my patient," Kalema said as she walked into the room.

Ann and Zoc quickly broke the kiss as Ann jumped up, her face turning an intense crimson. "Ann, go stand over there," Kalema ordered, pointing to the far wall.

"Why?" Ann asked, as she walked to the other side of the room. She couldn't help but wonder if her being banished to the other side of the room had anything to do with the last things she and Zoc had done together.

"Because we need to see if Zoc can walk yet; the best way, I've found, to convince people to walk when they're sore is by putting something-- or, in this case, someone-- they want where you need them to go," Kalema explained, smiling at Ann.

Ann blushed a little deeper, but couldn't help smiling back.

"Okay-- what's up with you?" Hope asked, placing her hands on her quote-unquote hips. "Normally you're so strict, and I don't think I'd ever seen you smile before."

Kalema hesitated a moment, then said, "I know what Ann's been going through, and the last thing she needs is someone being overly-strict and grouchy to her."

"What do you mean you know what she's going through?" Hope asked.

Sighing Kalema explained, "My husband, Shehmal, was attacked by a hunting spider. He was a scout, and he some how got away from the spider and back to the nest, but… the venom had done too much damage. He died a few hours after getting back. Now… Zoc, try to walk over to Ann."

Slowly, and clearly trying to quell a string of moans, Zoc stood very shakily, accepted his staff from Hope and walked over to Ann. He was rather unsteady, despite the staff's support, and grimaced in intense pain a few times, but otherwise did rather well.

"Good," Kalema said with a single, approving nod. "Now, I want you to rest, but try to get up and move a little every hour or so; otherwise, by the time you fully heal, you'll be pretty stiff." With a single nod to Hope and a gentle smile at Ann, Kalema left the room.

Gently, Ann took Zoc's arm, walked him back to his bed, and eased him into a sitting position. "I know you want to stay," Zoc said as Ann gently brought his legs up to rest on the bed and eased him into a supine position, "but you should at least go home long enough to make sure Doreen hasn't noticed you were missing and call in sick to your classes. You'll have to use the potion to make you bigger and, as long as you promise not to come back alone, I'll send a potion to make you small again with you, and someone to get you so you can come back later."

"Couldn't whoever takes me home wait until I call the college and then bring me back?" Ann asked, not liking the idea of be away from Zoc any longer than necessary until he had fully recovered.

"No-- you need to go home and relax a little. You've been taking care of me long enough; you need to think about yourself for a little while," Zoc whispered, reaching up and running his shaking hand through her hair and pulling out a couple small pieces of dry leaves that had probably come from when she had been knocked to the ground.

Sighing, Ann said, "Well, I guess it would be nice to get cleaned up a little. But isn't there anywhere I could do that here?"

"Only if you don't mind cold water or having to go clear down to the dinning area to get hot water,' Zoc explained. "Ever since you let me use your shower, I've been trying to figure out a way to get hot water to the whole colony but I haven't come up with anything that works yet. Either way-- just go home, take a nice, long, relaxing, hot shower; I'll send someone to get you in a couple hours."

"You promise?" Ann whispered, lightly tracing the skin patterning of Zoc's thorax.

"Of course," Zoc answered. "After a few hours of being stuck in bed, I'll need you here to keep me from going truly insane. I think I've recovered too much to just sleep all day again."

"Okay," Ann reluctantly agreed.

A few minutes later, Hope left and came back with someone to take Ann home. Zoc gave her the two potions he'd promised and, after a quick goodbye kiss, Ann reluctantly left for home.

About ten minutes later, Ann and her escorts arrived at her home. After her escort left, she went into the downstairs bathroom, slipped out of her clothes, which she new would be ruined beyond all repair (how would she ever be able to wear that dress again after Zoc's blood was stained into the fibers, unwilling to come out after dozens of washes?) when she drank the potion, and carefully stacked them where she would be able to find them later. She drank the potion, was quickly restored to her original size with an intense tingling sensation, and then raced up to her room, deciding the first thing she needed to unpack was the curtains, so no one could see in.

When she got to her room, she grabbed the bag with her shampoo and other toiletries in it from where she had set it on her bed and ducked in to her bathroom. She came out twenty minutes later, wrapped in a towel, and quickly shut the curtains that matched the rest of the room, mentally thanking Elnora for putting them up. After getting dressed, she called the college and told them she wasn't feeling well and wouldn't be there, then headed over to the Nickle's house.

When Doreen answered the door, she asked Ann where she had been; apparently, she had been over several times but Ann never answered the door. Ann quickly came up with excuses about being too tired from the trip and not wanting to get out of bed to answer the door, going out hiking the day before because she needed to relax a bit after the long week in Washington, and then not feeling well the evening before and earlier that morning. She felt more than a little guilty for lying to Doreen, who had been so good to her after her family's death, but knew she didn't have a choice.

Luckily, Doreen believed her and offered to help her carry some of her things over to her house. After making several trips, Ann told Doreen she would get the rest later after unpacking the dozen or so boxes they had brought over and after convincing her she wouldn't need any help unpacking, Doreen left.

Ann started to unpack, but kept worrying about Zoc. She finally pulled out her CD player and a CD she had made of her favorite country love songs and turned it on as loud as she could stand, which was just loud enough to get her sing along without feeling awkward, even though she was alone, and drown out her worries; but at the end of each song, she kept checking the clock she had just hung, and checking where the ants had said they would meet her, hoping they would come back early.

After nearly three hours since she had been brought home the ants still hadn't come to get her, Ann was getting impatient. She had hung all the curtains in the downstairs rooms, moved all of the boxes to the rooms the contents of the boxes would go in, washed all the dishes that had been sitting in boxes since she moved in with the Nickles and wiped out all of the cupboards. She was dancing to the music as she went back and forth between cupboards, putting the dishes away.

Just as she was spinning around with another pile of dishes, the volume went down on the music and she nearly dropped the dishes when she saw Zoc standing in the doorway smiling at her. "What are you doing here and how did you get here?" Ann demanded, blushing deeply.

"Why do you look so embarrassed?" Zoc asked smoothly.

"I don't know… I guess it's just that I never dance or sing when anyone might see or hear me-- it makes me uncomfortable. Now answer my question," Ann ordered.

"I was sick of lying in bed and I'm not that sore anymore, so I asked Hope to get me something to eat from the kitchens. When she was gone, I left her a note telling where I was going and snuck out," Zoc explained, stepping toward Ann with a guilty grin.

"You came clear through the yards by yourself when you're still weak from nearly being killed by a spider?! You could have gotten yourself hurt and been laying out there somewhere dying and no one would have known where to look for you, or you could have had another run-in with another spider and gotten yourself killed!" Ann said angrily, trying to fight back tears. The image of Zoc dying, alone, all so he could come see her was almost too much for Ann to handle.

Zoc took the pile of plates from her and set them on the counter, then pulled her in to a tight, comforting hug. "I would never do something that dangerous," he whispered, gently running one hand through her hair.

Ann looked up at him, more than a little confused, and asked, "But how else could you have gotten here?"

"I went ahead and put in the tunnel to your basement," he told her easily.

Ann pulled away from him. "Are you insane?! You're supposed to be resting," she reminded him.

"It really wasn't that hard to do," Zoc told her.

"Sure it wasn't-- never mind the fact that controlling your staff for a few seconds takes more energy than you should be using until you've fully recovered," Ann scoffed, absently rubbing the lump on the back of her head from when she had used it.

"I've been using it long enough-- I don't have any problem controlling it anymore," Zoc assured. "It'll get easier for you to control it, too, once you've had some more practice and some proper training."

"Wait a minute-- what do you mean 'training?'" Ann asked, a little shocked at the implications of Zoc's statement.

"I mean, if you have the ability to use the staff, then you should be trained to use it," Zoc announced seriously.

"Zoc, I'm not an ant and I'm not a wizard," Ann said mental images of her failing miserably and killing someone (or him) filling her mind. "I was just scared and… and I don't know, but I can't--"

Ann stopped short as Zoc took her hand. "Ann, at least let me teach you to control the staff to the point that if you ever have to use, it you'll know how to do so without hurting yourself. Besides, didn't the lab records say that it was originally supposed to have been used by a human?" he murmured, searching her dark eyes.

"Yes, the records said that, but… do you really think I could learn to use it?" Ann asked, unable to imagine herself being able to take on such an awesome task.

"I honestly don't know how much you'll be able to do with it," Zoc began, "but at least I'll know you'll be able to, at the very least, defend yourself with it should anything ever happen to me. Ann, you saved my life-- I hope we never end up in another situation like that, but if we do, you knowing how to use the staff could be the only thing to keep me from being killed. I need to practice teaching, anyway-- I'll have my first student in a little over a year."

Sighing, Ann conceded, "Fine, but we wait until you've fully recovered."

"Wonderful," Zoc said with a smile. "However, there is something I want to start teaching you now."

"What?" Ann asked.

"Well, every winter after the first snowfall, if the colony is fully prepared for winter, we celebrate being able to relax for most of the winter. There will be games, food that's usually only served for special occasions, music and dancing, and I was hoping… you would go with me, " Zoc explained.

"Is that an offer to take me out on… like a date?" Ann questioned, arching an eyebrow.

Zoc nodded slowly. "I'd like very much for you to come with me," he told her. Or, more specifically, the kitchen tile in front of her.

Ann stepped up to Zoc and clasped her hands behind his neck, gently. "I'd love to go with you," she told him. "But what is it you want to teach me?"

Zoc smiled widely, obviously pleased that he hadn't been shot down. His staff glowed for a moment, and the music Ann had been listening to got a little bit louder. Zoc leaned his staff against the counter and stepped to Ann, gently taking her left hand and putting it on his shoulder. He took her right hand in his left and rested his right hand in the small of her back, announcing, "How to dance."

Ann's happy smile faded notably. "Zoc, I've never danced with someone else before," she told him uncertainly. "I don't know if I'll be any good at this."

"Don't worry-- it should be a few more weeks until the first snow, so you'll have plenty of time to learn," he reassured her. "Besides, if I'm half as good at this as my mother was when she taught me, anyone who sees you dance will think you've been dancing like this for years." Zoc gentlemanly, almost reverently, brought Ann's fingers to his lips, kissed them softly, and began teaching her the dance.

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Please leave a review. 


	19. Chapter 19

Sorry for the long wait between updates, my beta reader hasn't had as much time to work on this, but she did give me the idea for Zoc baking.

* * *

Ann woke up Wednesday morning to the feeling of Zoc sitting on the side of her bed, brushing her hair back from her face. He started gently rubbing her back.

Ann smiled, not making any attempt to move, and asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Do you remember the competition I told you about?" Zoc asked, continuing to gently massage Ann's back.

"The one between the ants and wasps?" Ann questioned.

"Yes—it's today. You need to get up, call in sick to school and we need to leave," Zoc announced, leaning down and kissing the back of Ann's neck.

"Wait a minute—you're not planning on fighting in it, are you?" Ann asked, rolling over so she could see his face.

"Of course—I've fought in it every time it's been held since we started it; why wouldn't I now?" Zoc asked, lightly running his fingertips over Ann's lower arms.

"Because less than four days ago you nearly died; you should still be taking it easy," Ann said, trying not to choke on the word "died."

"Ann, I'm fine," Zoc gently reassured. "Don't you remember when you were attacked by that dragonfly larva? After a day and a half you couldn't even tell you had been hurt."

"But I hadn't had my heart ripped open or spider venom liquefying my insides," Ann observed hotly, marveling at Zoc's stubbornness.

"My heart being ripped open didn't take any longer to heal than the veins and arteries in your leg did," Zoc explained. "The damage from the venom has been fully healed since yesterday morning. Trust me—I was able to tell when it finally finished healing. It was horribly painful until it did."

"If it was so painful, why did you put in the tunnel to get here and keep getting up so much?" Ann asked.

"Because I can't stand lying still that long," he told her. "Unless, of course, I have you in my arms; then I might have been able to stand it."

Ann slowly traced her fingers over the patterns on Zoc's right arm and, sighing in defeat, asked soflty, "Are you sure you're up to this?"

"Yes," Zoc confirmed, standing so that Ann could get out of bed. "Now let's go—I don't want to be late."

Ann got up and, still unable to stop worrying asked, "Are you sure you've fully recovered? You're not still weak from the injuries healing or anything? You still seemed tired yesterday—"

Zoc suddenly wrapped one arm around Ann pulling her into an incredibly passionate kiss, his other hand slipping up her sleeve to gently caress her shoulder. After a moment, he finally pulled away, but didn't make any move to let her go.

Ann took a moment to catch her breath. "Okay, you're fully recovered," she conceded, smiling.

"Good. Now that you believe me, you have three things you need to do," Zoc instructed.

"Three?" she questioned.

"Yes—one: you need to get dressed; two: you need to call the school; and three: as soon as the competition is over, you need to get some more gowns like the one you wore the last night in Washington. The ones you normally wear make it too difficult to get to your shoulders."

"It doesn't seem like you're having too hard of a time getting to them, to me," she murmured, smiling as Zoc continued to caress her shoulder.

"Maybe not with my hands," he said softly, lovingly, gently kissing her cheek and then down her neck.

"Oh, fine—I guess now that I have a place of my own I can see about getting some more," she said, sighing contently as he continued to kiss her neck. She suddenly grinned mischievously and added, "I can't wait to see your reaction to some of the gowns I'll wear when we're married."

Zoc suddenly asked, "How long do humans usually court before getting engaged? How long after that do they wait to get married?"

"Sometimes months and sometimes years for both—it just depends on the couple," Ann explained. "I don't remember how long they courted, but my great-grandparents got engaged on Valentines' Day one year and married on Valentines' Day the next year, I've always thought it would be really romantic to get married on Valentine Day."

"You wouldn't want a long engagement like that would you? I think it would drive me crazy," Zoc said.

Ann smiled. "Don't worry—I think once we've decided to get married, I'd want it to happen as soon as possible, too. How long do ants usually wait?" she asked.

"To propose, it's the same as humans—different with each couple. Hova and I dated just over two years before I finally asked her to marry me, although I certainly won't be waiting that long again. Engagements usually last a few weeks, just long enough to get everything arranged for the wedding," Zoc answered.

"And something like that would be fine with me," Ann told him, glancing at the clock, "I'd better get dressed and call the school." She reluctantly let go of Zoc.

"One more question: what is Valentines Day? When is it?" Zoc asked.

"It's a human holiday. I think you'll really like it. I'll tell you all about it as soon as I call the school, okay?"

"_Taziohma_—okay," Zoc agreed, giving Ann one more quick kiss before leaving so she could get dressed.

After Ann had dressed and called the school, Zoc shrunk them and they headed to the nest, cutting a path through the front yard.

"How long did you say it would take to get the new tunnel reinforced?" Ann asked.

"About a week—right now, most of the workers are preparing the nest for winter," Zoc told her.

"How do they prepare it for winter?" Ann asked genuinely interested.

"The foragers bring in leaves and other vegetation that can't be used for food and the workers fill several dozen large holes under the nest with it," Zoc explained. "When it starts to decompose, it creates enough heat to keep the nest reasonably warm during the winter.

"So what is this… Valentines' Day you promised to tell me about?"

Ann spent the rest of the walk telling Zoc about Valentines Day. When they got to the anthill, hundreds of ants and wasps were on the one side of the hill, gathered around an area where the grass didn't grow as thickly.

Ann grabbed Zoc's hand when she saw the huge crowd. "Are you okay?" Zoc asked gently, searching Ann's face with concerned eyes. "If you're unwell, we can go back home…"

"I'm fine—I just don't like big crowds," Ann explained.

"I know what you mean," Zoc consoled. "The noise when there are this many ants and wasps together is almost unbearable and it's so hard to move through a crowd like this. But don't worry—we'll meet up with Hope and you can sit with her; you won't have to worry about getting through the crowds, and once the competition starts, it should quiet down." With those words, Zoc began gently guiding Ann through the milling crowd, his right hand always hovering a few inches over the middle of her back.

Once they had made their way to the front of the crowd and found Hope, Zoc handed Ann his staff. "Hold on to this for me, but don't try to blast the wasps with it. Remember—they aren't really trying to hurt me," Zoc told her, smiling warmly.

"Okay," Ann said skeptically, still unable to picture herself ever being able to use it.

Zoc gently took Ann's hand once more, brought it to his lips almost formally, brushed the backs of her fingers with a soft kiss and, relinquishing her hand, headed out into the open area where the other ants and wasps were. Ann instantly noticed that everyone around where she and Hope were standing were notably quieter and several were whispering to each other behind their hands.

"Well, I think he just confirmed those rumors Kalema told us about," Hope announced to Ann.

"What do you mean?" Ann asked, still a little freaked out about the sudden influx of attention she was receiving.

"Zoc's only ever let three people hold that staff since he received it after our family died: Hova, myself, and now you," Hope explained.

Ann knew that Zoc never let the staff out of his sight, that it had been passed down through every generation of his family: his great-grandfather made it for his son, Zoc's grandfather, and it had been passed to Zoc's father when his grandfather had died. But Ann had never truly realized that he never let anyone else touch it. It made her feel honored that he loved and trusted her enough to ask her to take care of it; at the same time, it made her more than a little nervous.

When the competition started a few minutes later, there were a few dozen ants and wasps. The ants were all armed with wooden staffs—some, like Zoc's, were just staright, while others had curved or angled ends, like some of the weapons Ann had seen guards or soldiers carry, only the ones used in the competition weren't sharp.

After a couple hours of intense competition, it was down to Zoc and two other ants and three wasps. After another round Zoc, had beaten one of the wasps and the other wasps had beaten the other two ants.

"What happens now that there's an uneven number?" Ann asked Hope.

"Zoc will fight one wasp, and if he wins, then he'll fight the other one," Hope explained.

Zoc fought the first wasp for about ten minutes before finally beating it. After that, he took an extremely short break before going in to fight the final wasp.

Ann was greatly enjoying watching Zoc fight. It never failed to amaze her how fast he moved, how he always seemed to know what the wasp was going to do next and be ready for it. By the time it seemed like they had been fighting about half an hour, Zoc and the wasp both looked exhausted, but neither one was willing to give up.

"How long will they keep going at this?" Ann asked, waving her hand at the scene playing out before her.

"Just a couple more minutes," Hope explained. "If no one wins within a set amount of time, then they'll just be declared evenly matched and they both win. That's what's happened every time since this competition was started, and it's always been Zoc and the same wasp that end up winning."

Hope was right—a few minutes later, the fight was ended and a tie declared. Several minutes later, after fighting his way through the crowd that had spread across the area where the competition had been, Zoc made it over to Ann and Hope.

"You were absolutely amazing," Ann announced, embracing Zoc with her free, not holding the staff hand. She took a moment to relish the feel of Zoc's slightly sticky with sweat exoskeleton on her skin, the scent of earth and adrenaline that he carried.

"I assume that means you're glad you came instead of going to school?" Zoc asked, smiling as he accepted the staff from Ann.

"Definitely—I was a little worried about you a few times, but honestly, I'd love to be able to see you fight like that more often than just twice a year," Ann said.

"I guess I'll have to make sure you get to watch me practice once in a while," Zoc said with a warm smile. "If you want, I could teach you to fight like that too."

"Really? I'd love that—I've always wanted to learn some type of fighting," Ann said.

"As long as you don't make any excuses about learning to use the staff, I'll teach you to fight, too," Zoc told her.

"Okay," Ann agreed.

"Good, now let's get out of here," Zoc said, resting his hand on Ann's back.

"Where are you two running off to?" Hope asked playfully, plating her hands on her "hips."

"Anywhere but here, but most likely back to Ann's house. I enjoy the competition, but after tying for three years straight, I'm getting tired of people congratulating me when I haven't done any better than last time, and I don't really like all the attention," Zoc told her before taking Ann's hand and leading her through the crowd.

When they got back to Ann's house, Ann asked, "Do you want something to eat or drink?"

Zoc leaned his staff against the back of the couch. "Maybe later—right now, I just want to get off of my feet and relax a while, preferably with you in my arms," Zoc sighed. He suddenly picked Ann up and sat down on the couch so that Ann was sitting beside him with her legs draped over his own and the base of his abdomen, her feet curled around between the back of the couch and the underside of his abdomen.

Ann grimaced slightly when she heard the spikes on Zoc's back tear into the velvet on the arm of the couch. "Don't worry, I can fix it when we get up," Zoc reassured, sensing the reason for her wince.

"I know, your spikes tearing up my furniture has never bothered me before. I guess it's just because this is an antique."

"When will you be bringing your furniture over?" Zoc asked.

"Fred and Lucas are going to help carry it over here this evening after I get home from work," Ann answered.

"Good—your couch is more comfortable," Zoc announced.

"And wide enough for us to sit next to each other with out me having to be draped over you just to keep my feet from falling off the front of the couch," Ann added.

"True. Although I don't exactly mind having you draped over me," Zoc teased affectionately.

After a few more minutes of discussing Ann's plans for the house, Zoc dozed off, completely exhausted; Ann laid her head on his chest and eventually fell asleep, too.

When Ann woke up an hour or so later, Zoc was already awake and gently running his fingers through her hair and he was running his other hand gently over the back of Ann's hand and arm that was resting on his thorax. Ann made no attempt to move; she was too relaxed and content to move before she absolutely had to.

"If I keep this up, you'll stay here all day, won't you?" Zoc asked.

"Or at least until I have to go to work," Ann replied.

"You could call in sick to work and we can spend the rest of the day like this," Zoc suggested.

"As much as I'd love to do that, Elnora needs me. By the time I get there after school, she always looks so exhausted; she's just too old to be running the shop alone and I already missed work on Monday because of you being hurt. I can't do that to her again," Ann told him.

"Okay, but after you get home from work, I'm not letting you out of my arms," Zoc announced.

"That sounds like a wonderful way to spend the evening, but you'll have to wait until after Fred and Lucas bring my furniture over," Ann said.

"I guess I can try to be patient if—" Zoc was cut off as the phone rang.

Ann quickly untangled herself from Zoc and ran to the kitchen, where she had put the only phone she had found and unpacked so far.

When Ann came back into the living room a few minutes later, she asked, "After we have some lunch, can we go find out where exactly the edges of the safe are and where the door is?"

"Why do you need to know?" Zoc questioned. "I thought you were just going to dig the whole thing up."

"Elnora and I were discussing it yesterday; we agreed that it would be a good idea to build a floorless shed over it so no one can see what we're doing and so we can keep working in the cold," Ann explained. "By the time we get it dug up, it'll probably be too cold for Elnora to be out and she wants to be there when we open it and take everything out. I told her I thought I could figure out where exactly it was so we would know where to have the shed put, and that's where the men she hired to build it will put it—they'll be here tomorrow morning before I leave for school, so they'll need to know where to put it. Plus, once the shed's built, if you wanted to help dig out the safe, you wouldn't have to worry about anyone seeing you."

"So I'd have another excuse to spend more time with you?" Zoc asked, standing and walking over to Ann, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Exactly," Ann replied, wrapping her arms around Zoc's neck and kissing him softly.

By the time they had finished eating lunch Ann and Zoc had figured out how to find the edges of the safe. Zoc shrunk himself and Ann took him over to the Nickles basement set him down next to the hole they had used to find the safe the first time and then grabbed some of her stuff and headed back to her house. She quickly set the stuff in her house and went back to the yard where Zoc had said the safe was, after a minute a small section of grass caught on fire, a signal she and Zoc had agreed on before hand, and Ann marked a few inches away from it with a tent stake. When they where done, there were five tent stakes: two under the edge of the bushes near the Nickles' property line and three about five feet out from the bushes near on Ann's, one at each corner and one where Zoc had found the door. Luckily, the door opened straight into Ann's yard and not under the bushes so they wouldn't have to remove any of the bushes to take the things out of the safe.

Once everything had been marked, Ann headed back over to the Nickles' and picked Zoc up and then took another box of her things over to her house. Ann and Zoc spent the rest of the afternoon unpacking her things until she had to leave for work.

By the time Ann got home from work the next day the shed had been built.

Ann barely had time to get out of her car before Lucas ran over and excitedly asked, "Can we start digging up the safe now? Please?"

"I don't know—I still have a lot of stuff to unpack and carry over from your house," Ann said as she headed to her front door. She was more than a little surprised when Lucas didn't start complaining or begging.

"You could unpack later," Lucas suggested.

"But I still need to get my stuff out of your parents' way," Ann told him as she unlocked her front door. She gasped when she opened the door and saw that about two-dozen boxes of her things had been stacked in the living room.

"That's what I thought you would say, but you don't have to worry about that because Zoc and I carried all of your stuff over here after I got home from school. This is what I carried over and the stuff Zoc shrunk and brought over through the tunnels is in the basement. So can we go start digging up the safe?" Lucas asked, grinning.

"Well, I certainly can't say 'no' after you did all of this. Not that I would have said 'no,' anyway," Ann conceded with a happy smile.

"I'll go get a shovel. Yours are already in the shed," Lucas announced before running out the door.

Ann headed down to the basement and called Zoc.

"So, are we ready to start digging?" Zoc asked when he got there.

"Yes," Ann confirmed, shutting the box she had been looking through while she had waited for Zoc to get there. "Did Lucas really think I would wait to dig up the safe until this stuff was over here?"

"No, I just convinced him you would have more time to dig up the safe if you didn't have to get this stuff moved over here when you were home," Zoc explained easily.

"So it was your idea to bring the stuff over?" Ann asked, joining Zoc and loosely wrapping her arms around his neck.

Zoc grinned, snaked his arms around Ann's waist and said, "I would have done it sooner, but didn't think it would be a good idea if your things just disappeared from the basement, so I had to wait until Lucas could help and then just hope his mother doesn't realize he couldn't have moved it all that quickly."

"Thank you so much, Zoc," Ann murmured, kissing him.

"Hey, am I going to have to dig up the safe by myself while you two stand around kissing all day?" Lucas called from the stairway.

"Sounds like a good idea to me," Zoc called back.

"Let us know when you find the safe," Ann added over her shoulder.

"Fine, but if you two don't help I get all the money from the stuff in the safe," Lucas said.

"Okay, we're coming," Ann said, letting go of Zoc and heading up the stairs.

The trio quickly got to work. After half an hour of digging (and Zoc breaking and repairing his shovel about ten times), the colony wizard finally dropped the broken shovel. "That's it—I can't work with this stupid thing!" he groaned.

Ann thrust her own shovel into the dirt and joined Zoc. "It's not stupid, you're just stronger than the shovel," she consoled, resting a hand on Zoc's dirt-streaked cheek. "It's made for humans to use, and we just aren't as strong as ants are."

Sighing, Zoc asked, "Then could you please take me back to the house?"

"You're not _quitting_,are you?" Lucas asked, wiping away a browful of sweat and earth.

"Of course not! I'm just going to get a shovel that won't break every time I touch it," Zoc explained, shooting death glares at the garden implement.

Ann took him in, and several minutes later, they came back with a shovel that had a thick handle and wide head. After a few hours they had dug out an area about eight feet square and three feet deep with a ramp of dirt leading up to the doors of the shed.

Ann let out a frustrated sigh as her foot caught in her skirt for the third time as she tried to carry a load of dirt up the ramp.

"You could go in and change into a pair of jeans," Lucas suggested.

"We wont be working out here that much longer, so it wouldn't be worth the time it would take," Ann announced before unbuttoning her skirt, taking it off and tossing it by the shed door; she almost started laughing at the shocked looks on Zoc's and Lucas's faces. "What?"

"What do you mean 'what?' You just started taking your clothes off!" Lucas said.

"Lucas, these are called shorts," Ann said slowly, tugging slightly at one leg of the shorts she was wearing. "Your mother wears them, your sister wears them, they're perfectly decent and this is exactly why I always wear shorts under my dresses and skirts: for the rare occasions when there are things that are easier to do without a skirt on."

"Yeah, but just suddenly taking your skirt off… that just isn't right," Lucas insisted.

Ann grinned. "I know I always get the strangest looks from people when I do that, but it's so entertaining," she said, walking over to Zoc, who was still staring at her, and kissed him on the cheek. "You can stare at my legs later; right now, I want to get as much as possible done before Doreen calls Lucas."

They worked for another thirty minutes before Doreen called Lucas in for the night.

The next day, Elnora gave Ann the next two days off to work on digging out the safe; by Friday night, they had finished clearing in front of the safe and would open it as soon as Elnora got there the next day.

Ann came into her house shivering. They had been determined to have everything cleared so they could open the safe the next day, but it was cold out and Ann was chilled to the bone, not to mention wet from the light rain that had been just enough to soak through the dirt to where they had been working. Thankfully, it wasn't enough to leave standing water in the hole they had dug, but it had been enough to make the dirt wet enough to stick to everything.

"Well, at least we're done with the digging," Zoc said after making himself bigger.

"As long as this rain stops and doesn't wash more dirt into the hole," Ann pointed out as she tossed her muddy boots into the garage and shut the door. "I'm going to go take a long, hot bath and hope I can get warm again. Please try not to get too much mud on the floor on your way to the basement." She started toward the stairs, giving Zoc a quick kiss on the cheek.

"You have no idea how lucky you are," Zoc said, sounding almost jealous.

"What do you mean?" Ann asked.

"Hot water," Zoc said simply.

"Still haven't been able to work anything out for the nest?" Ann asked sympathetically.

"Nothing—we just don't have the resources or technology to do something like that," he told her.

"You know, one of the spare bedrooms has its own bathroom," Ann said. "I suppose you could use it to get cleaned up, but don't count on the hot water lasting too long—I have a nice big tub in my room I plan on filling to the top."

"Thank you," Zoc replied sincerely, pulling Ann into a quick albeit passionate kiss before she headed up to take her bath.

When Ann got out ninety minutes later, she slipped into her green sleeveless gown, although when she chose that gown she had thought she would take a short bath, just long enough to warm up and that Zoc might still be there when she got out. Now, she was sure he would have left already, but in her own defense, she just hadn't been able to convince herself to get out of the warm water.

Ann opened the bathroom door and was about to pick her bathrobe up off of her bed when she realized she could smell smoke. She raced downstairs, where it all seemed to be coming from. As she came off the bottom of the stairs, she could see smoke pouring out of the kitchen; suddenly, she heard Zoc shout, "Craznocks!"

She darted to the doorway just in time to see Zoc throw a pan on to the range, along with the potholders he had used to get it out. The pan hit the back of the stove and bounced forward off the front. Zoc tried to catch the smoking pan and let out a cry of shock and pain as the pan burned his hands and he dropped it on the floor, sending blackened chunks of whatever had been in it all over the kitchen floor.

Ann ran to his side, quickly turning on the cold water and pushed his hands under it as she went. "What are you doing?" she asked opening the kitchen window to let the smoke out.

"Trying to… make you brownies," Zoc murmured, staring down at his hands and the water flowing over them.

"Why on earth would you be making brownies?" Ann asked, part of her angry with him for messing up her kitchen, but another part thinking it was sweet of him. Even though she wasn't sure why he had decided she needed brownies tonight of all nights.

"Because it's the only thing I've seen you make that you _really_ like; I thought I would be able to do it—the Betty Crocker box made it sound easy," Zoc said, still not looking at her.

"Zoc, that still doesn't explain why you felt compelled to make them," Ann announced as she started rifling through one of the cupboards until she found the healing potion that Zoc had insisted she keep at her house in case she ever needed it and he wasn't there. She turned off the water and carefully patted Zoc's hands dry with a towel before applying the healing potion.

"I just wanted to make you something special, something that you like," Zoc explained quietly, watching Ann's hands rather than her face.

Ann turned around, eyes widening when she saw the temperature at which the oven was set. "Zoc, why is my oven set at five hundred degrees?" she asked, trying to keep him from realizing just how frustrated she was becoming.

"The box said it would take over half an hour at three hundred and fifty degrees. I was afraid it wouldn't be done before you came down, so I thought if I doubled the temperature it would only take half as long, but it doesn't go that high so I just set it as high as it would go," Zoc explained, almost childishly.

"Okay, why did you have to make something special tonight?" Ann asked, arching an eyebrow.

Zoc hesitated a moment then, carefully taking her hand, led her to the next room. Ann quickly felt her frustration fall to pieces when she saw the room. The fireplace had been lit; lit, glowing candles sat on the tables at either end of the couch, which sat in front of the fireplace. A beautiful bouquet of red roses sat on the mantel above the fireplace.

"Tonight is our one week anniversary; I just wanted to do something special for you. I'm sorry I I ruined it—I'll clean up the mess," Zoc apologized sadly.

Ann turned to him, threw her arms around his neck and kissed him, declaring, "You _truly _are the sweetest and most wonderful man on earth. And don't worry about the brownies—we'll clean up the mess later, but don't you _ever _touch the oven again unless I'm with you or I've actually taught you to make something."

"Don't worry, I won't. You're… really not mad at me?" Zoc asked, sounding like he couldn't believe she wasn't mad.

"Of course not! Everyone makes mistakes, and this has to be the sweetest, most romantic mistake I've ever seen. So just forget about the brownies for now and let's enjoy the rest of what is no doubt going to be a wonderful evening," Ann told him, kissing him again.

"Did you know I would still be here?" Zoc asked, running his fingers slowly, lightly, over Ann's arm and shoulder.

Ann smiled at the feel of Zoc's touch. "No," she admitted, "but I was hoping you would be when I chose this. As long as I took to convince myself to get out of the tub, I was sure you would have left already."

"I guess that's one bad thing about having hot water—when it's cold out, it's incredibly difficult to convince yourself to get out. That's why I was rushing to get everything done," Zoc said before pulling her into another long, passionate kiss.

They had been kissing for a minute or so when Ann felt something brushing over her hair. At first, she thought it was Zoc's hand until she realized his left hand was on her back and his right was on her shoulder. She pulled away from him, not removing her arms from around him, but just far enough to see that one of his antennae that had been brushing through her hair. "Um, Zoc…" she murmured.

Zoc seemed to know exactly what Ann was about to say. His eyes flew open and he pulled away fast. "I'm sorry, I—" Zoc started to say before Ann rested a finger over his lips.

"Is this a normal thing for an ant?" Ann asked, gently resting her hand on his cheek.

"Yes, but I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable," he explained nervously. "I know it wouldn't be something a human would be used to; I just wasn't thinking about what I was doing."

"Zoc, you're without a doubt the sweetest, most considerate man I have ever met, but we're from two completely different species—I'm sure there will be many things that are different or strange to one of us," Ann consoled, comforted, "but don't avoid something that's perfectly natural to you just because you're afraid of making me uncomfortable.

"I love you, and I know there will be things I have to get used to that wouldn't be normal for humans, and I'm sure there will be things you'll have to get used to, too. And you didn't make me uncomfortable—I just wasn't sure what was going on."

"You don't mind?" Zoc asked, a note of relief obvious in his voice.

Ann smiled at him. "Not at all—if anything, I liked it," she murmured, kissing him.

They moved over onto the couch and fell asleep watching the fire. Several hours later, Ann woke up enough to notice that the room was getting cold and the fire had died down quite a bit. She shivered slightly and started to curl her legs up until her cold feet touched Zoc's abdomen, making him wake with a start.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," Ann apologized, quickly moving her feet.

"It's okay, but you're freezing," Zoc observed quietly, pulling the afghan off of the back of the couch over them. He wrapped his legs around Ann's and pulled her feet back against his abdomen, covering them with his own. A second later several pieces of firewood lifted from the pile and floated into the fireplace.

As Ann watched them, she realized Zoc had left his staff in the kitchen. She looked back over her shoulder at him and asked, "You can do that without the staff?"

"Yes, there are very few things I can do without it and until about a year ago I couldn't do anything with out it. But I can levitate things without the staff," Zoc told her as he wrapped his arm back around her waist.

When Ann woke up late the next morning, she carefully managed to untangle herself from Zoc without waking him and headed to the kitchen. She shut the window that had been left open all night then quietly swept up the burned brownies, scraped what she could out of the pan then put it to soak and pulled out a blueberry muffin mix and started to make them.

She had just put the muffins in the oven and was washing the dishes when Zoc came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "You know I said I would clean up the mess I made— you didn't have to," he whispered, gently pulling her hair to one side and kissing her neck and shoulders, his antennae gently stroking her hair and cheeks.

Ann smiled. "I didn't want to wake you up yet. I left the pan for you to try to get clean, although if you keep this up I'll try to clean it myself so you don't have to stop," she said as she rinsed the last dish and set it in the dish drainer. Very tenderly, she reached up with one hand and ran her fingers over the antenna that was stroking her cheek.

"How about I clean the pan after we're done eating whatever it is you're making for breakfast and I'll keep doing this until its done baking?" Zoc suggested softly into her neck.

"Sounds good to me," Ann breathed.

When they had finished their breakfast thirty minutes later, Ann said, "I should go get dressed— Elnora will be here in less than an hour unless she decides to come early."

"Do you have to?" Zoc asked as he set his dishes in the sink then turned around, gently catching Ann's arm as she started to leave the room and pulled her back to him and kissed her.

Sighing, Ann said, "Unfortunately, yes."

"Do you think we could do this every Friday night? Well except for my pathetic excuse for cooking?" Zoc asked, running his hand down Ann's side and resting it on her hip.

Ann grinned. "I think that's a wonderful idea," she declared, "and I'll teach you to cook—you can help me with Thanksgiving dinner in a couple of weeks. My family always made a ton of Christmas cookies and candy, and I have no intention of skipping that holiday tradition, so you can help me with those, too." She gently kissed him again before reluctantly pulling away and heading upstairs to get dressed.

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Please leave a review it will make a big difference in how much time I put into this story, because I now have a second account and the stories there are getting more reviews so I'm feeling really motivated to spend more time on those stories. The explanation for why I have a second account is in the profile on my other account; Christiana Anne I'll have it under my favorite authors list if anyone wants to check it out. luckily my mom won't read my story so I don't have to worry about her seeing this note. 


	20. Chapter 20

I'm so sorry for taking so long to update this, I haven't worked on any of my stories since early February because of a giveaway on fanlib . com the top prize was a 200 dollar Amazon gift certificate and it was quicker to draw stuff to get the points for it than to write enough, so I've spent the last month and a half drawing 500 pictures to get it. I'll have enough with the gift certificate to get my own laptop so I'll be able to write when I'm away from home so hopefully it'll be worth the time I didn't get any writing done.

Unfortunately I can't seem to draw any good pictures of Zoc, but my mom has done some really cute ones of Zoc. If anyone wants to see them just go to fanlib and look up Ant Bully; last time I looked this story and her pictures were the only things posted. She'll probably be posting more between now and the end of the giveaway so check back at the end of the month for more.

This is a really short chapter, but I wanted to get something up. I should have more up within the next week I just have to read over it and right now I have the only working scanner so I have to scan all of my mom's pictures for the giveaway and when I'm not doing that my sister is scanning her pictures so my free time to use my computer for writing is still very limited.

Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed.

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When Ann came down from getting dressed, she stepped out to the kitchen and smiled when she saw that Zoc had already washed the dishes from breakfast and was working on the pan from the brownies, while muttering something Ann couldn't understand.

"So do I want to know what you're saying?" Ann asked as she walked over next to Zoc and rested her hand on his arm.

"Nothing too bad, but I'm not going to let the first words I teach you in the ant language be insults and curses, so I'm still not going to tell you," Zoc told her, continuing to scrub at the burned pan until the bottom stated to bend where he was scrubbing.

"Then maybe you could tell me when you're going to teach me?" Ann asked before reaching into the sink, taking the now bent and burned pan and dropping it into the trashcan. "You're lucky I have several pans like that."

Zoc gave her a grateful look then said, "_Rahshahlyahm annmiralaq._"

Ann smiled, slowly and somewhat laboriously, repeating what he had said and then asked, "So what did I just say?"

Zoc smiled, wrapped his arms around her and said, "I love you."

Ann giggled. "No, really—what did I just say?"

"I love you," Zoc repeated. "In my language, _ann_, very loosely, means _love_." He gently kissed her forehead. "Ann is love."

Ann wrapped her arms around Zoc's neck, grinning. "That's definitely better than insults and curses," she announced, repeating the phrase one more time before kissing Zoc. He pulled her closer and they stood at the sink wrapped in each other's arms and comfortable silence.

A few minutes later, the old grandfather clock (which had actually belonged to Ann's grandfather) struck eleven.

Ann reluctantly pulled away from Zoc. "I should make sure the fire is completely out; I don't want the house burning down. I've already thought it was once in the last twenty-four hours," she said as she headed back into the sitting room to check the fireplace. It was fully out.

As she stood up from checking the hearth, she stopped to smell the bouquet of roses on the mantel. "These are beautiful, Zoc—where did you find roses at this time of year?" she asked.

Zoc walked over next to her. "They're from the bush we always sat in when we went out flying," he told her, pulling one out of the vase and breaking a piece off of the stem, then replacing the rose. A second later, the crystal on his staff started to glow, and another perfect rose grew from the piece of stem; he handed it to Ann with an almost debonair flourish.

Ann smiled, accepted the rose and asked, "Could you start a whole rose bush like that?"

"Why?" Zoc asked, something in his voice making Ann think he was up to something.

"I've always loved roses, and I thought it would be nice if there could be some in the yard next summer," Ann explained.

Zoc grinned and said, "I guess that will have to be the first thing I teach you to do with the staff after you've learned to defend yourself with it."

"Do you really think I'll ever be able to do something like this?" Ann asked doubtfully as she put the rose in the vase with the others.

"Of course I do! It's fairly easy to do and I can start you off with a potion, so even if for some reason you can't use the staff for it you'll know how to make and use the potion. Although I think—" Zoc was cut off as someone knocked at the front door.

"So are you coming?" Ann quickly asked, pointing to the earrings she had put on when she'd dressed.

Zoc smiled and said, "Of course," then shrunk himself.

Ann helped him into the earring then went to answer the door. Ten minutes later, Ann had set up a lawn chair inside the shed, hooked up a heater to the extension cord they already had a light plugged into and called Lucas, telling him to join her and Elnora.

"So how are we going to get the safe open? Doesn't it have a combination lock on it?" Lucas asked as he came into the shed.

"Well, lucky for us, Mr. Debolt made sure someone in his family knew what the combination was, just in case anything ever happened to him," Ann teased, smiling and holding up one of the letters out of the box of documents and other assorted items that had had the blueprints in it.

Elnora laughed and said, "I guess I was wrong when I told you that you had wasted your money on that box of stuff."

"So far it looks like it was a good investment, as long as the safe hasn't leaked and ruined the stuff inside," Ann said as she walked down into the hole and unlocked the safe. Her hands were starting to shake with excitement and dread at the thought of what they would find inside; taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she grabbed the handle and pulled hard. When nothing happened, she tried again, pulling as hard as she could, but it still wouldn't open. "Lucas, come help—I can't get it," she finally called.

Lucas came down and they both pulled on it; after several tries; they gave up. "Does anyone have any suggestions how to get this opened?" Ann asked, hands on her hips.

"Do you think we could pry it open with a crowbar?" Lucas asked.

"We could try—do your parents have one? I haven't seen mine since I moved." Ann said.

Lucas groaned, "They have one, but it's in the back of the car. Mom and Dad probably won't be home for about an hour or two."

Elnora got up. "I think I have one in my trunk. I'll go check," she said as she left.

"Lucas keep an eye on her," Ann told Lucas. As he complied, Ann whispered to Zoc, "Zoc do you think you could help us?"

"Of course," Zoc answered.

Ann helped him down and he made himself bigger then walked over to the safe. Zoc grabbed the handle and pulled; after a second, the door slowly opened with a loud screech of metal against metal.

"I think she heard that—she's coming back," Lucas warned from where he was peaking out the door then ran down by Ann.

Zoc quickly shrunk himself, and Ann helped him back to the earring just as Elnora opened the door.

"What was that sound?" Elnora asked, then noticed that the door of the safe was open a couple inches. "How did you get it open?"

"We just decided to try again and I guess we had tried enough times to work it loose." Ann told her, feeling only slightly guilty about lying.

"Great! Let's see what's in there," Elnora said.

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Please leave a review and thanks again to everyone who reviewed on the last chapter it means a lot to me.


	21. Chapter 21

I'm so sorry its taken me so long to get this updated my life has been kind of hectic lately, now I'm staying with my grandparents because my grandmother had surgery and they need some help around the house and I've actually had some spare time to work on my stories.

As always thanks to supergeek17 for creating the ant language.

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Ann and Lucas pulled the safe's heavy door the rest of the way open, and a pile of broken china spilled out. Elnora walked over and picked up a piece, shaking her head sadly. "This is from around the time of the American Revolution, probably shipped over from England a few years before the war," she explained. "With what looks like a nearly complete set, it would have sold for over a hundred thousand dollars; now I don't really know what you'll be able to get for it, but I do know there are people who will buy the pieces just to have something that old. Just keep it all and don't let it break any worse."

Ann grabbed a plastic tub and a roll of Bubble Wrap from by the door and they started carefully putting the china in it. Once they had finished and set the tub aside, Ann carefully pulled out something long and skinny that was wrapped in paper out of the top of the safe and carefully started to unwrap it. When she had finished, she found a beautifully-crafted sword. "How old do you think this is?" Ann asked as she held it out for Elnora to look at.

"It's from the early seventeen hundreds, in wonderful condition. Probably worth fifty thousand at least-- I'm not very familiar with the values of things this old, though, so it could be worth much more," Elnora told them.

They pulled out another dozen swords, all dating from the seventeen hundreds to the late eighteen hundreds. There were several large bags of old coins; after going through a few handfuls out of each bag, they found that most were from the mid-eighteen hundreds, one bag was from the seventeen hundreds and one smaller bag was from the fifteen and sixteen hundreds. Under the bags were several boxes of jewelry from the early nineteen hundreds back to the seventeen hundreds, although Elnora told them some of it may have been much older. Behind the boxes of jewelry was a smaller, fire-proof lock box.

Ann pulled it out and tried to open it, but it was locked. "I guess we'll have to get someone to get the lock off of this before we find out what's inside," Ann said, a note of sadness in her voice.

"Let me see it," Elnora said, holding out her hands.

When Ann handed the box to Elnora, she pulled a hairpin out of her hair and started to work on the lock. A minute later, she had the box unlocked and Ann and Lucas were both staring at her in shock.

"How did you learn to do that?" Ann asked.

"After years of dealing with stuff that's been locked and the families don't have the keys, you learn a trick or two," Elnora told them slyly, handing the box back to Ann.

Ann carefully set it on a small table next to the chair Elnora was sitting in and opened it. Inside was a pile of a couple dozen old letters. Ann's heart started racing as she carefully picked one up and skimmed over it until she came to the signature. "It's them," she breathed, barely able to speak. "It's the letters written by George Washington-- this one is from during the Revolution." She set the letter back in the box when her hands started to shake.

"So this means we're not just going to be rich-- we're going to be super mega millionaires rich, right?" Lucas asked excitedly.

"We won't know for sure until we get these authenticated. There is a chance that they're reproductions or fakes," Ann said, pushing a few wisps of her hair out of her eyes.

Elnora took one of the letters and looked at it for several minutes. "If it is a fake, someone went through a lot of trouble to make it and knew what they were doing. Ann, I want you to take these on into the house-- keep them in the box so they're protected and hide them somewhere until I can find someone to authenticate them. If they _are _real, we don't want to take any chances." She put the letter back, closed the box and handed it to Ann.

Ann breathlessly agreed then headed into the house and up the stairs. "Where am I supposed to put these that no one would think to look if someone broke in or something?" Ann asked out loud, a little frustrated that everywhere she thought of didn't seem safe enough.

"Let me out of here for a minute," Zoc requested.

Ann carefully helped him down and he made himself bigger, then took the box from Ann. He slowly turned to the wall and slammed his fist through it, then proceeded to break several more pieces off of the wall. When the hole was big enough, he put the box in it and then repaired the wall with his staff. "I don't think anyone would think to tear the walls down to find something to steal," he assured, turning back to Ann and taking her shaking hands in his. "Are you alright?" he laid a cool hand on Ann's cheek, searching her eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just a little overwhelmed. You know how you were worried about not being able to provide for me unless I permanently moved into the nest if we got married? If those letters _are _authentic, even after splitting the money with Lucas and his family, I think between the money from them and all the other stuff, we'd have enough to last the rest of our lives," Ann told him, her voice wavering. "It's also making me a little uncomfortable having something that valuable in the house-- what if something happens to them?"

"Don't worry, everything will be fine," Zoc reassured, gently kissing her forehead and embracing her.

All the tension seemed to disappear as he held her; Ann sighed and smiled at him. "I think that has to be the quickest anyone's ever been able to calm me down."

Zoc grinned, bringing one hand up to gently run it through Ann's hair, and said, "Good. So are you ready to go back out? If we stay in here much longer, someone could come looking for you."

"Yeah, I'm ready," she replied, letting go of him so he could shrink himself and they could go back out.

When she got back to the shed, Lucas asked, "What took you so long?"

"I couldn't decide on the best place to put the box," Ann told him vaguely, evenly.

"Alright, but can we finish with the safe now?" Lucas asked impatiently.

"I don't know-- I'm starting to feel a little tired. Maybe we should take a break for a while," Elnora said, smiling conspiratorially at Ann.

Ann grinned back and said, "She's right-- we _have _been out here an awful long time. We should stop and get some lunch."

"Are you two crazy?! How can you just want to stop now?" Lucas asked seriously, glaring at them for a second when they both started laughing at him.

"Okay, let's get back to work," Elnora said still smiling.

As they continued to go through the safe, they found old guns and pistols, china dolls and hand-carved wooden toys, old books and a couple of family Bibles, all from the seventeen and eighteen hundreds, and several old photo albums from around the time of the Civil War.

The last thing in the safe was a large wooden chest, which took up quite a bit of space in the safe, with a note on the top that said, _Keep in safe until time to sort; museum quality_. Ann passed the note to Elnora.

After reading it, Elnora said, "Let's take it inside to open it. That way, we'll have more room to lay out whatever's in there."

Ann and Lucas agreed and carried the trunk into the house. Once they where all inside, Ann carefully unlatched the lid and opened it. Inside was a Civil War-era rifle and an older-looking sword; underneath those was a neatly folded Union soldier's uniform.

Ann carefully took out the sword, pulled it out of the sheath and noticed an engraving on the blade just below the hilt; she turned it so she could read it, and gasped when she saw what it said.

"What's wrong?" Elnora asked.

"What's it say?" Lucas asked at the same time.

"'To my grandson, William Courtney: your great-grandfather William used this sword to fight for the freedom of this country; now, you shall use it to ensure that all may share in that freedom. Your loving grandfather, Joseph Wagstaff,'" Ann read, still in a state of shock.

"So it's a sword from the Revolution? Big deal-- we've found at least a few that you think are that old. Why were you gasping about this one?" Lucas asked.

"Because William Courtney is my great-great-great-grandfather-- this whole trunk could be his stuff," Ann said, her hands shaking and tears filling her eyes at the thought of touching something that had not only belonged to him but also had been passed down through four generations of her family.

"So one of your grandfathers fought in the Civil War?" Lucas asked.

"At least three, possibly four that I know of, actually. William Courtney was the youngest, though-- he lied about his age and enlisted a few months before his seventeenth birthday," Ann told them.

"And his grandfather fought in the Revolution?" Lucas asked.

"Yes, William Wagstaff-- he was forced into service with the British and when he got to America, he switched sides," Ann explained.

Ann carefully set the sword aside and laid out the uniform; underneath it was a pile of letters. As Ann carefully looked through them, she breathed, "There are letters here from his whole family, written to him during the war."

Ann set the letters with the sword and uniform and pulled out an old photo album, smiling. "Thank goodness they actually wrote down who's in the pictures," she said as she looked at the first two pictures that showed two young men in uniforms.

"Who's the other guy in the uniform?" Lucas asked.

"That's Williams brother, Elzey-- he died in the war. I'd never seen a picture of him before or anyone else in William's family except for one of him and his wife, Anna that was taken around the time my great-grandmother was born" Ann told them as she looked through the rest of the album.

At the back of the album was a picture that looked older than the rest, of a young woman wearing a light-colored dress with dark trim, the neckline coming to just off her shoulders with lace around it; a ruffle of lace ran around the bottom of the elbow length sleeves, and two layers of lace were around the bottom of the skirt, with a row of roses running from the top to bottom to one side on both rows and a single rose at the center front of the neck. She held a baby in her lap and there were two boys standing on either side of her, one looked about five and the other about three. Standing behind her was her husband, whom Ann recognized as John Courtney. On the album page under the picture was written, _John and Mary Jane Courtney with sons Elzey, James and William. _Below that, and apparently written in later was, _Mama wearing her wedding dress. _

"Who's Mary? I thought John was married to Margaret. She's the one who was with him in all the other pictures," Lucas asked.

"Margaret was John's second wife; Mary died when William was two, right after giving birth to his brother Joseph. Until I started researching the family, no one even knew about Mary-- she had been forgotten. Even on William's death certificate, it said his mother was Margaret," Ann explained.

"Then how did you know about Mary?" Elnora asked.

"Well this may sound a little crazy--" Ann started.

"As long as it's you talking, we expect it to be crazy," Lucas quipped.

Ann glared at him for a second, then said, "Well, several years ago, my parents and siblings and I were at the cemetery where the Courtney's are buried. My parents had other places to go, but I wanted to stay at the cemetery a little longer, so they left me there. We knew who the other people were, but there was the tombstone for Mary Courtney and I had never heard of her before and had no idea how she was related to the rest. I had been sitting there for a while when it just suddenly hit me, almost like someone had told me-- she was John's first wife. It seemed crazy because she didn't die until 1849 and William was born in 1847, and everything I had found said Margaret was his mother.

"Well, I just couldn't get it out of my head, so I went to the courthouse and found the marriage certificate for John and Mary and checked the 1850 census and found out it only listed John and the four boys. I eventually found out later that John and Margaret hadn't been married until two years after that. I've always felt like in some way Grandma Mary had been communicating with me and I've felt really close to her ever since." Ann explained.

"How can you feel really close to someone who's been dead for over a hundred and fifty years?" Lucas asked.

"I don't know, but I've heard of other genealogists feeling close to certain deceased relatives, too. I guess it's just a genealogist thing," Ann said as she carefully set the photo album aside and dove back into the trunk.

The next thing in the trunk was something that filed the whole bottom and was carefully wrapped in old brown paper and tied with string. Ann carefully set it out on the floor and removed the strings and started to unwrap it; inside was something white with dark green lace and unusually bright, considering the apparent age, pink roses. As Ann carefully unfolded it, she gasped and tears filled her eyes as she finished laying it out on the floor. It was the dress Mary Courtney had been wearing in the picture. Ann dropped to her knees next to it and reached out gently running her fingers over the roses.

"They're pink, bright pink," Ann breathed.

"So what's so important about them being pink?" Lucas asked.

"For some reason, I've always felt like Grandma Mary would like bright pink flowers. That's what I always take to the cemetery for her. I-- I must have been right if she put them on her wedding dress. It's certainly not a normal color for 1841, when she got married," Ann said.

"So this is supposed to have been her wedding dress," Lucas asked.

"Yes," Ann confirmed.

"But I thought wedding dresses were supposed to be white," Lucas questioned.

"Not back then. Most wedding dresses were darker colors; if it was white or a lighter color, the hem would end up so stained it couldn't be worn again. Back then, women would wear their wedding dresses for other special occasions, not _just _their wedding. It was actually some time in the eighteen forties that women started wearing white, after that was the color Queen Victoria wore when she got married," Ann explained, still looking at the dress in a state of shock. "I just can't believe that after over a hundred and sixty years, it's still around. From the looks of it, it's in perfect condition. And what were the chances that I would be the one to find it? Who knows how long it had been out of the family or how many times its changed owners? Yet all of the stuff is still together like Grandpa Courtney just packed it up."

Ann very carefully refolded the dress and wrapped it back up, then moved back over to the trunk. There was another, smaller brown paper wrapped item. Ann carefully pulled it out and started to unwrap it; inside was a beautiful veil with a ring of bright pink roses on the headpiece that matched the ones on the dress. After looking at it for a few moments, Ann carefully refolded and wrapped it, then set it with the dress and pulled out the only thing left in the trunk, a small box about the size of a ring box. She opened it and inside was what looked like two plain gold wedding bands and an engagement ring, although the diamond or whatever stone had been in it was missing. As she looked closer at the rings she had to fight back more tears when she saw the inscriptions on the inside.

"What does it say? Elnora asked.

"'J. C. and M. J. W. 4-15-1841' and 'W. C. and A. A. L. 4-3 -1873,'" Ann read. "That should be John and Mary and then William and his wife Anna Lindley; the dates are the days they got married. Once William decided to get married, his father must have given him the rings to use." Ann ran her fingers delicately over one of the rings.

"So why don't the men have middle names? What was Anna's middle name?" Lucas asked.

"Back then, people didn't always give their children middle names," Ann explained, "and no one is sure what Anna's middle name is. All the records I've ever seen just have the middle initial, but it may have been Alvina because that was her daughter's middle name."

After carefully putting everything back into the chest, Ann and Lucas carried it up to Ann's room. Then they went back out to the shed and carried all the plastic tubs into the house and agreed that they needed a break that day so they would get together the next day to go through all the coins.

Once Elnora and Lucas left, Ann helped Zoc out of the earring and collapsed onto the couch in the sitting room.

Zoc made himself bigger and walked over behind Ann then pulled her hair to one side and gently started massaging her shoulders. "You look exhausted," he observed simply. "It was absolutely driving me insane not being able to help you carry all that stuff in."

"Yeah, I guess I am pretty tired and sore after all that-- some of those old guns and swords are heavier than they look," Ann sighed, leaning forward a little so Zoc could work his way farther down her back. "How does someone with an exoskeleton learn to give such a good back massage?"

"We do have a very thin layer of muscle outside of our skeletons, but mostly I'm just guessing," Zoc admitted.

"You're doing a fantastic good job," Ann told him gratefully.

After working his way down her back and back up to her shoulders, Zoc gently kissed her neck and said, "You should eat something-- it's after dinner time and you didn't have any lunch."

"I'm too relaxed and tired to make anything; I'll be fine. I just want to get some sleep," Ann said, lying down.

"How about I make you something to eat, that way you won't have to get up?" Zoc asked.

Ann's eyes flew open and before she could say anything, Zoc seemed to read her mind and assured, "I won't make anything that could end up burning down your house-- just a sandwich or something so you don't go to bed without eating anything."

"Okay-- a peanut butter sandwich sounds good," Ann said, smiling. "Could you put some honey on it too, please?"

Zoc grinned and said, "Sure." He softly kissed Ann's forehead and headed out to the kitchen.

Ann raised an eyebrow. "What are you grinning about?" she asked, sitting up so she could see over the back of the couch.

"Well, I would tell you, but it may make you not want the honey. Unless, of course, you've gotten used to eating honeydew," Zoc replied, grinning over his shoulder.

"I've been able to handle eating honeydew since the cave-in, as long as I don't think about where it comes from. Now what were you grinning about?" Ann asked again.

"Well, one of those books of yours said that quite a bit of the honey humans eat is made from honeydew that bees gather off of leaves and such; from what I've seen of the bees in the area, it's true," Zoc told her. "I just find it rather amusing that you and Lucas both think it's disgusting that ants eat honeydew when you've already been eating it, just in a slightly different form."

Ann smiled and said, "I'd forgotten about that. That was in Holldobler and Wilson's book wasn't it?"

"The smaller of the two that you have by them, yes. So you already knew?" Zoc asked.

"I did, but I had forgotten-- it's been a while since I read the whole book. I had wanted to get an ant farm since I was little. My mom couldn't stand the thought of having ants in the house, but I kept begging so when I was twelve my parents told me if I wrote a really long report about ants they would let me get one. I guess they never thought I would actually do it, they were so shocked when I handed them the finished report-- all twelve pages. That's why I know so much about ants-- I did a ton of research for the report, although obviously I didn't remember everything I learned."

"What is an… ant farm?" Zoc asked.

Ann clapped her hand over her mouth in pure panic. How could she be so stupid and insensitive as to mention _ant farms _in front of Zoc? She hesitated a moment, then finally said, "You're going to think I'm horrible."

"I highly doubt that will be the case," Zoc told her gently.

"Well, an ant farm is… well, it's what people keep ants in when they keep them- well sort of as… pets," Ann said nervously.

"Humans keep ants as pets?" Zoc asked in mild disbelief.

"Yeah," Ann confirmed sadly, unable to look Zoc in the eye.

"And you kept ants as pets?" Zoc asked.

"Um yeah. Actually I, um… I still have them," she admitted, expecting a horrified or disgusted reaction from Zoc.

Zoc walked over to her, knelt in front of her and gently tilted her face up until he was looking her in the eyes and whispered, "If you keep tensing up like that, I'm going to have to give you another back massage just to get you relaxed enough to sleep."

"You… don't think I'm horrible?" Ann asked quietly.

"No. If, when you started keeping them, you had never met me or had any idea that there were ants as intelligent as humans and it's a thing some humans normally do, I can't blame you for that. I would like to see them, though. Where did you get them?" Zoc asked.

"I found the queen walking across the sidewalk in the city; they look completely different from you. If I had thought there was any chance of them being like you or your people, I would have told you about them before," Ann said, standing and leading Zoc into the office. She walked over to the desk and lifted a red cloth to reveal two ant farms full of large black ants. The farms were made of four sixteen-by-eighteen inch picture frames pressed back to back and connected to each other by plastic tubes; one had another tube coming out of one end into a jar with food in it.

Ann held her breath, waiting for Zoc's reaction; finally, he asked, "Why do you keep them covered?"

"Normally, ants don't have light inside their nests and it can upset them if there's too much light, so I keep them covered unless I'm looking at them," Ann explained.

A sudden idea struck her. Rather hesitantly, she held up the cloth and asked, "What color is this?"

Zoc looked a little confused but answered, "It's red. Why?"

"I was just curious, because normally, ants can't see red. That's why I use this to cover them-- all they'll see is darkness," Ann told him, then yawned.

"Okay, it's time to get you something to eat and get you to sleep," Zoc said quickly, taking the cloth and covering the ant farms.

Ann laughed. "You're just afraid I'll make you yawn," she teased as Zoc led her back into the sitting room.

"Maybe, but you still need to eat and get some sleep," Zoc said heading to the kitchen.

After eating, Ann fell asleep in Zoc's arms. After a while, Zoc carried her up to her bed. Ann woke up just as he was covering her. "You're not staying?" she asked sleepily.

"Not tonight-- I've already been away from the nest too long. Quite frankly, I'm surprised Spindle hasn't come after me. I'll come back tomorrow after you're done with all those coins and Elnora leaves," Zoc told her as he kissed her forehead.

"Alright," Ann mumbled as she fell back to sleep. "_Rashahlyahm annmiralaq_."

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	22. Chapter 22

The rest of the chapters are going to be kind of short, but that way I should be able to update more often because it won't take my betareader as long with each chapter and won't take me as long to read over the chapters once I get them back from her. And you should all go check out her Ant Bully fic Protector, Provider, Friend if you haven't yet, it's going to be good, you can find it under my favorite stories.

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On Monday after work, Ann stopped at the fabric store-- she wanted to make a new dress for the first snow celebration and needed to get material. She was more than a little thrilled when she found a few bolts of rust-colored satin that looked like it would perfectly match some of the shades of rust in Zoc's skin. When he had first left out the rust colored dress with off-white trim when they had been at the hotel in Washington DC, she had realized how similar it was to the ant's coloring; when Zoc had found out it had been irreparably stained and damaged after the spider attack, he hadn't said anything, but for a split second, Ann had thought he'd looked disappointed.

Although Ann really wasn't sure if he thought she was even remotely attractive, she was sure that if she looked more like an ant, he would appreciate the gesture; if she was making a new dress anyway, she was going to make sure it was something he would like. She just hoped she could have it done in time-- it was already getting cold out, and it could start snowing any day. On top of all that, she'd never made a dress quite like the one she wanted to make for the celebration.

As soon as Ann got home after buying the material and a few simple trimmings, she started working on the dress. She'd set up one of the spare bedrooms as a sewing room so she could lock the door and not have to worry about Zoc seeing what she was making-- it _was _a surprise, after all... When she got done cutting out the dress pieces a few hours later, she was more than a little thrilled to find that she would have enough material left for a matching shawl and at least one, possibly two, sleeveless nightgowns.

After telling Hope what she was trying to get done before the first snow, Ann spent every evening working on the dress, except for when Zoc was at the house. He had been coming every evening since she had agreed to go with him to the celebration, giving her more dancing lessons; most evenings, they would also spend some time reading his great-grandfather's journals, but once she started working on the dress, as soon as her lessons were over, Ann would make excuses about having to do homework. Zoc wouldn't stay as long as usual and she would get back to work on the dress.

By Thursday, the dress was nearly finished, but Ann had to stop working on it for a while-- a major assignment was due the next day, but she hadn't even started it yet. And so, she was sitting on the floor in front of the fireplace, working on the assignment, when Zoc came in.

"Do you ever do anything other than homework?" Zoc asked teasingly.

Sighing, Ann replied, "Not tonight. I probably have at least a few more _hours _of work I need to get done before tomorrow."

"I suppose that means no dancing lesson tonight?" Zoc said, trying to conceal his disappointment.

"I'm really sorry-- I just have to get this done," Ann said, feeling horribly guilty for making excuses to get Zoc to leave early all week and now not having any time to spend with him.

Zoc sat down behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, whispering, "It's okay-- you can't help it. Would it distract you if I stay here for awhile?"

"I don't know-- I've never tried working with someone this close before," Ann replied truthfully.

"If I do distract you, tell me and I'll leave," Zoc whispered into her ear.

"Okay," Ann agreed, leaning back against Zoc's thorax as she continued to work through the assignment.

Ann didn't have any problem concentrating with Zoc there; if anything, his presence focused her and made the assignment go quickly and smoothly. When she finished, she yawned and leaned her head back against Zoc's shoulder, saying, "Thank you for staying-- I don't know if I could have stayed awake long enough to finish this if you hadn't been here, I'm just sorry I was so busy."

"Ann, _qi tazhiohma--_ it's alright," Zoc consoled. "I know that there will be times when you're busy and we won't be able to spend as much time together as we'd like to."

"I know; I just feel like all I've done this week is tell you I'm too busy," Ann said with regret.

"Don't worry about it," Zoc dismissed, kissing the top of her head. "I'm perfectly content to sit and hold you while you do your homework-- at least that way I'm still spending time with you. Right now, though, you should get to bed." He picked her up and carried her to her room as if she were a small child.

"Can you stay?" Ann asked as he laid her in her bed.

"Considering the amount of time we tend to spend kissing when we wake up together, I don't think that would be a good idea on a night before your classes," Zoc said, lightly tracing Ann's collarbone.

"True," Ann conceded, already starting to doze off. "Could you just stay until I fall asleep?"

"_Tazhiohma,_" Zoc agreed, lying down next to her and wrapping his arms around her as she fell asleep.

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	23. Chapter 23

The next afternoon, just as Ann got to work, Elnora held up a letter. Ann noticed the lock box that had the letters they thought George Washington had written was sitting in front of her. She could feel her heart start to race and her palms start to sweat as she asked, "You got the results back about the letters?"

"They're real-they were really written by George Washington," Elnora said, grinning.

Ann let out an excited scream and hugged Elnora. "Ohmigosh-we were touching letters that George Washington wrote over two hundred years ago! I can't believe this-I can't believe they're really real!"

"Not only are they the real thing," Elnora went on, "several have coded messages in them. The man who authenticated them says they mention plans for some of the most famous battles during the war. He also said he can't even give us a price range for what they might sell for because nothing like this has been found and sold in over a hundred years, but because of the rarity and historical importance of them, they could sell for millions of dollars each."

Ann dropped into a chair, her mouth hanging open for a minute. Finally, she mumbled, "There were over twenty letters in that box."

"Twenty-six to be exact," Elnora said, resting a hand on Ann's shoulder. "I'd say you and the Nickles will never have to worry about money again."

"This doesn't seem possible-a little over three months ago, I didn't know how I was going to survive and now I have my own house and you're telling me I'll never have to worry about money again," Ann breathed, mentally adding that after giving up hope of ever finding a man she could love and respect she had met Zoc.

"So should we go ahead and call the news stations and papers?" Elnora asked.

Ann hesitated. She and Zoc had planned to spend the evening together and who knew how late she would get home if Elnora called the news? On top of that, if they wanted to see the other stuff and went to the house and Zoc was already there, it could be…disastrous, to say the very least. "I don't know. Maybe we should wait until tomorrow-it's already late in the day, and who knows how long they would want to spend interviewing us and seeing the stuff?" she finally said.

"And you already have plans for tonight?" Elnora half asked half stated, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Ann said slowly, knowing that she couldn't lie to Elnora or she would be able to tell.

"What type of plans? A date?" Elnora asked.

Ann blushed slightly. "Um yeah… kind of," she answered nervously.

"Oh, don't sound so nervous, it's about time you started dating," Elnora announced with a grin. "Now who is he? And what do you mean 'kind of?'"

"Well, I don't know if it would really be considered a 'date.' We're just meeting at my house to spend some time together," Ann said, deliberately avoiding Elnora's first question.

"You're meeting some guy at your house and spending the evening with him, just the two of you? Are you sure that's a good idea?" Elnora asked, sounding concerned.

"Don't worry-nothing's going to happen that shouldn't. We've actually spent the evening together a few times, and he's always been the perfect gentleman. We both strongly believe that you shouldn't have sex before you're married, so really there's no reason for you to worry about me," Ann said, wishing she could just tell her it was impossible like she had told Lilly when she had questioned her about how often Zoc spent the night with her.

"I'm still going to worry about you-you never know who you can trust this day and age. I just don't want you getting hurt. Who is he? How long have you known him?" Elnora asked.

"I met him right after I moved in with the Nickles and we've been… well, I guess 'courting' sounds better since we've never gone out on a actual date, but we've been courting for two weeks tonight," Ann told her, again avoiding telling her who he was.

"And who is he?" Elnora asked.

"His name is Zoc," Ann reluctantly told her, wishing that someone would come into the shop and distract Elnora.

"Is he from around here?" Elnora asked.

"He doesn't get out much," Ann answered by way of an explanation.

"Well, I know pretty much everyone in the area and I don't remember even _hearing _of someone with an unusual name like that. How long has he lived here? What's his last name?" Elnora asked.

Ann was beginning to wish she had just told Elnora she hadn't had plans that evening. She knew Elnora was just worried about her and wanted to make sure she was safe, but it was driving her crazy and she wasn't sure what she was going to tell her about a last name. She finally said, "He grew up in the area, but his family didn't really go out much so that might be why you've never heard of him."

"And what is his la-" Elnora was cut off as the phone rang.

As soon as Elnora went into her office to answer the phone, Ann let out a relieved sigh and dropped in to the chair behind the front desk. She just hoped she could avoid the subject and Elnora wouldn't think about it again.

Luckily, Elnora didn't bring it up again, although Ann knew it was just a matter of time until she did; what she didn't know was how to handle the situation when it happened.

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	24. Chapter 24

When Ann got home from work several hours later, she collapsed on the couch in the living room and placed her head in her hands.

A minute later Zoc came in. "What's wrong? You look upset," he asked, sitting sideways on the couch next to Ann and taking her hand in his, stroking the back of her hand with his thumb.

"I'm just a little stressed," Ann explained vaguely. "I think I need to learn how to lie better."

"What happened?" Zoc asked.

Ann told him about Elnora questioning her about him. When she finished, Zoc consoled, "Hopefully, she won't ask again. But if she does, I'm sure you'll come up with something. And just as a point of reference, my last name is Veneficus."

"You have a last name?" Ann asked, more than a little surprised that he had never mentioned it before.

"Yes," Zoc confirmed. "It's just that my people don't use our last names much, except in official records-- so that's not very often. We just don't have much use for last names, so they're never really mentioned. It's more likely than not something that was picked up before the colony escaped from the lab. Now come eat-- I don't want the food to get cold." Zoc stood and pulled Ann to her feet.

"You cooked?" Ann asked, torn between being grateful for not having to make dinner and angry that he had been cooking after she had specifically told him not to when she wasn't with him.

"Well, I had some help-- Lucas came over after school and between the cookbook and his help, I think everything turned out right and nothing burned," Zoc reassured, leading her to the kitchen.

The table was set with two lit candles and a bouquet of roses; one of the chairs had been replaced by one that Zoc had most likely brought from the nest. Zoc pulled out a chair for Ann, seating her, before going to the china cupboard and carrying over two covered plates. He set one in front of Ann with a subtle, gentlemanly flourish, and uncovered it to reveal a simple, but delicious-looking chicken and rice dinner.

Ann smiled and said, "Zoc, this looks absolutely wonderful. _**Alahmsai'o'alai**_-- thank you."

"I'm just glad I managed to make it with out burning anything," Zoc admitted sheepishly as they started eating; Ann had to admit-- the dinner far exceeded fantastic.

After dinner, the pair spent time practicing the dances that Zoc had taught Ann; even she had to admit she was getting pretty good at most of them. Later, they took turns reading through more of one of Zoc's great grandfather's journals and eventually fell asleep in each others arms on the couch in front of the fireplace.



The next morning, Ann woke up lying with her head on Zoc's thorax and he was gently rubbing her back. "We don't have to get up yet do we?" Ann asked after a few minutes of comfortable silence.

"Not necessarily, but you do have to look outside," Zoc answered.

Ann turned over and looked out the picture window into the backyard and smiled widely when she saw that it was snowing. "So when is the celebration?" Ann asked, turning so that she could see Zoc's face.

"It will start around dinnertime this evening," Zoc told her, "with a feast and there will be music, dancing. I'll have to go help set some of the stuff up so we can't lay here too long."

"I suppose I could let you go-- if I _have _to," Ann murmured, tracing the patterning on Zoc's thorax and up into his neck. "I do have something I want to finish before the celebration."

"What is it you want to finish?" Zoc asked, curiosity piqued.

"It's a surprise," Ann told him slyly.

"Will I like this surprise?" Zoc asked, running his fingers through Ann's thick hair.

"I think so," Ann replied with a grin as she pulled away from him and stood.

"I thought we were going to stay here for a while," Zoc said, propping himself up on his elbow.

"Well, if you have to get back to the nest and I need to finish that surprise, we should probably go ahead and have breakfast," Ann announced, heading into the kitchen. "If you come out here, I'll start giving you those cooking lessons I promised."

"Alright," Zoc said, getting up and following Ann to the kitchen.

She taught Zoc to make a cinnamon coffee cake; once they had put it in the oven Ann started washing the dishes.

"You know, I could do those for you," Zoc offered.

Ann grinned and said, "You know, most people hate doing dishes and try to get out of it whenever they can."

"Well, standing around not doing anything while you work drives me crazy," Zoc said.

"Oh, I can think of something you could do to entertain yourself," Ann replied, glancing over her shoulder at him and grinning.



Zoc quickly joined Ann, a grin slowly filling his face as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "You mean, something like this?" he murmured as he kissed her neck and his antennas gently caressed her hair and the side of her face.

"Exactly," Ann breathed, turning her head enough to kiss one of his antennas as it brushed over her cheek.

Ann quickly finished the dishes then turned around, wrapped her arms around Zoc's neck and kissed him.

Fifteen minutes later, Ann reluctantly tried to pull away from Zoc's embrace when the oven timer rang. "We need to get that out of the oven before it burns," she observed neutrally.

"Do we have to?" Zoc asked, tightening his arms around her and kissing her again.

Ann pulled back for a second. "You're just trying to make up for all those nights I said I had homework and we didn't have time for anything like this," she said, a note of teasing in her voice.

"Maybe, but you don't seem to mind," Zoc said, returning Ann's gentle tease.

"True," Ann said, kissing him and wrapping her arms back around him, then moving them as a unit towards the oven until the small of her back was against the counter beside it. Ann reached back with one hand and turned it off, stopping just long enough to point out, "If we're going to keep this up much longer, at least open the oven door so the food doesn't burn."

Zoc grinned almost devilishly before kissing her again while opening the oven with one hand. After a while they managed to pull away form each other long enough to eat breakfast. Afterwards, Zoc left and Ann worked on finishing her dress.

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Please leave a review.


	25. Chapter 25

Thanks to everyone for all the reviews, the next chapter should be up within the next week.

I have a picture of the dress that Zoc left out for Ann to wear the last day they were in Washington posted on Deviantart if anyone wants to see it, just take out the spaces. http : / / hekaanna. deviantart. com/art/Ann-s-dress- 89540861

Special thanks to my beta reader supergeek17 for the ant language and the scene where Zoc see's Ann in the dress for the first time, she wrote it and I made a few changes, mostly the description of the dress, I've been trying to get her to post her original version of this and Zoc's first attempt at baking. Sadly she hasn't yet, but hopefully I can convince her to.

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Several hours later, Ann had finished the dress and was just finishing putting the last bit of trim on a shawl made of the same material and trim, with a fleece lining, when she heard Zoc call for her. Quickly making sure he wasn't coming upstairs, she hid the dress in her room and then went downstairs.

"So do you still want to go tonight?" Zoc asked when she had joined him in the living room.

"Of course I do! Why wouldn't I? Ann asked. "Are you not feeling well?"

"I'm fine; it's just… after we show up and spend the whole time together, the whole colony's going to know about us," Zoc told her, wrapping an arm around Ann's waist.

"You aren't worried about how everyone will react," Ann said, phrasing it more like an announcement than a question.

"Maybe a little," Zoc admitted, "although I don't know why—from what Kalema said, pretty much the whole colony already suspects."

"So far, everyone who's found out doesn't seem to mind," Ann observed, laying her hand on Zoc's cheek. "That has to be a good sign. I'm sure everything will be fine."

"I know. I'm just a little nervous about how the few who won't approve will react," Zoc told her, kissing her forehead. "Are you ready to go?"

"I just need to change—do we need to get there right away?" Ann asked.

"No, we have plenty of time—the dinner won't start for another hour," Zoc replied.

"Fantastic," Ann replied, heading back upstairs and into her room.

As quickly as possible, she put on the corset and hooped skirt that she normally only wore for reenactments, then the new dress, and finally started working with her hair.

Over half an hour later, Zoc knocked at her door. "Are you alright?" he asked, sounding concerned.

"I'm fine; this whole process just took longer than I thought it would. You can come in the bedroom—I'll be right out," Ann called from her bathroom as she finally finished with her hair and, laying the curling iron aside, tried to convince her self to leave the bathroom.

A few moments later, she finally stepped out of her bathroom, terrified at the concept of being seen in her new dress. She had worn similar dresses, but never anything with a neckline like this one. True, it was just she and Zoc in the room, but the fact that it was _Zoc _who was about to see her in it before they left for the celebration still left her feeling as vulnerable as a newly hatched pupa.

She stood in the middle of the room, eyes lowered. Very shyly, Ann looked up from the floor to look at Zoc. She was dressed in a Civil War-era style dress, the rust colored silk trimmed with off-white lace and ribbon around the sleeves, waist, hem and neckline; a floral design across the bodice; and a simple diamond pattern on the skirt. The dress had an off-the-shoulders neckline that was just high enough that it didn't show any major cleavage, but just low enough to make her highly uncomfortable. Despite the emotional discomfort it caused her, the dress hit Ann in all the right places, accenting her slim figure. Her thick brown hair was meticulously curled and swept up atop her head and held in place with a ribbon that matched the material of her dress, a few curling tendrils bouncing softly at the side of her face with every motion of her head.

Nervously, Ann searched Zoc's face. His icy blue eyes were wide, his mouth slightly open. For once, his grip on his staff loosened, and it nearly slipped out of his hands. "It's that bad, isn't it?" she whispered, a frown touching her classically made-up face.

Zoc laid his staff aside, stepped up to Ann and kissed her gently, subtly drawing her body close to his. As he pulled away, he softly kissed the crook of Ann's neck and shoulder, whispering into her ear, "You're beautiful. Like always."

"You… you think I'm beautiful?" Ann asked softly, willing herself not to cry.

"Of course I do," Zoc said gently, brushing the backs of his fingers over Ann's cheek. "I may not be human, but I'd have to be blind to not realize how beautiful you are. I'm sorry I've never told you that before—I should have." He laid his hands on either side of Ann's face and gently kissed her forehead.

Ann smiled warmly at him and said, "It's okay I just… was never sure of what you thought."

"I think you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen," Zoc answered, gently trailing kisses down her neck to her shoulder between each word. "I think you're beautiful no matter what you wear, although I do I have to admit… for obvious reasons I'm rather fond of this color combination."

"I thought you would be," Ann said, and then grinned. "I also have enough material left to make a couple of sleeveless nightgowns."

Zoc smiled. "Could you make them with necklines like this dress?" he asked, running his hand from her neck to her shoulders.

"I could try. Right now we should probably get going or we'll be late," Ann replied, pulling away from him and picking up the crystal Kalema had given her. Quickly, she put it around her neck and grabbed the shawl off her bed. Exchanging warm smiles, the pair started toward the basement.

After Zoc shrunk them, he picked up a long, heavy cape from near the tunnel entrance. "You'll need this it's gotten very cold through the tunnels leading out of the nest over the last week," he informed her as he helped her put on the cape, then picked up another and put it on, fastening it at the neck.

"I can't believe it's been that long since I was at the nest," Ann murmured, running her fingers over the soft material of the cape.

"You couldn't help that you were busy I'm just surprised Hope never complained about not seeing you," Zoc consoled, looping his left arm through Ann's right.

"Well… she was the only one who knew what I was really doing," Ann admitted.

"What do you mean?" Zoc questioned.

"The only homework I've done all week was on Thursday; other than that, I was working on this dress. I felt horrible and so guilty for lying to you, but I wanted it to be a surprise. I couldn't have you around when I was working on it," Ann told him, unable to look Zoc in the eye.

Gently, Zoc turned Ann's face to his. "_Qi tazhiohma_ I don't mind you having to lie to me to surprise me with something like this," he whispered, gently kissing Ann on the cheek.

Ann smiled softly at Zoc, and then asked, "What are the capes made of?"

"Woven dandelion fluff, that's what most of the clothes we wear during the winter are made of," Zoc told her.

"You wear clothes?" Ann asked, curiosity piqued.

"Only when we absolutely have to, sometimes for special occasions," Zoc explained as they neared the end of the tunnel.

As they came out of the tunnel that led into the main dining area, Ann gasped quietly and froze. Dozens of long tables had been set up and it looked like every ant in the colony was there.

"Are you okay?" Zoc asked, hearing Ann gasp.

"Every ant in the colony must be here," Ann said beginning to feel nervous about being around so many ants, when she was so… _human_.

"Not quite, there are a handful of nurses who will take turns staying with the pupas throughout the evening," Zoc told her.

Hearing Zoc's words, Ann's hands started to shake; she wanted to turn around and go back home.

"What's wrong?" Zoc gently asked, moving so he was standing in front of her and taking her hands in his.

"Are you sure I should even be here? I mean… Zoc, this is an _ant _celebration. Is anyone going to be upset about a human being here?" Ann asked nervously.

"Ann, you're considered part of this colony, just as much as I am, no one's going to question you being here," Zoc told her, gentle but firm.

"Lucas is considered a part of the colony, too, but he's never come to anything like this," Ann observed, glancing over Zoc's shoulder, "and who exactly said I was considered 'part of this colony?' No one has ever told me that but you."

"The fact that you were given this crystal means you've been accepted as a member of the colony," Zoc explained, lightly touching the crystal around Ann's neck. "Only the head nurse can give one of these out, and before she can she has to get permission from either all five council members or from the queen, and no one will question that decision. Anyone who sees this will know that you have been accepted as a member of the colony." Zoc reached up, gently running one hand over Ann's cheek, kissed her forehead and added, "Don't worry, I promise I won't leave your side until I have you back home."

"Okay," Ann finally said after taking a moment for everything Zoc had told her to sink in.

Zoc took her arm once more and they headed into the dining area, then to one of the tables where Hope was waiting for them and had saved them seats. All of the ants wore the crystals like the one Kalema had given Ann; most of the females wore flowers tucked at the base of one of her antennae, while others wore bracelets or fancier necklaces along with their crystals. What surprised Ann the most was that several wore skirts or dresses.

She fit right in.

A few minutes after the start of the banquet, a large door in one of the walls opened to reveal the Queen, a light from behind her making her wings glow with iridescent colors. Ann was a little shocked by how much bigger she was than the other ants, she knew that normal queen ants were usually much bigger than the workers, and Lucas had said she was a lot bigger than the others, but she hadn't expected that much of a size difference.

Ann was pulled from her thoughts as Zoc gently touched her elbow; she realized everyone was getting up. Zoc took her hand as everyone stood and bowed, then sat back down. Ann tightened her hand around Zoc's as the feeling of being completely out of place came back, along with the realization that she had no idea how to act at such a formal gathering, which did little to quell her nervousness.

Zoc gently rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb. "You're doing fine, just try to relax a little," he whispered reassuringly as he slipped his hand away from hers and gently rubbed her back just above the neck like of her dress.

Taking a deep breath, she whispered, "I'll try, but next time you invite me to something like this, teach me how I'm to act, not just how to dance."

"I will," Zoc promised. "Honestly, I didn't even think about it, _qehmso manai_."

"It's fine, as long as I don't make a total idiot of myself," Ann replied.

"Don't worry-- everything else should be easy and if you're not sure of anything, I'm right here," Zoc reassured as the meal's first course was brought out.

As Zoc had promised, the rest of the meal was easy enough to get through. After they had finished eating, Zoc led her through a doorway at one side of the dining area that led into a huge room with what looked like a stage at one end, where there were ants setting up different instruments. As they drew closer, Ann could see that most of them looked similar to human instruments-- she could instantly pick out the violin, cello and woodwinds-- but they could all be played with only three fingers.

After a while, the music started and Zoc led Ann out into the center of the room, where other pairs and couples were already congregated, and led her in a dance. Throughout the dinner, Ann had been worrying about her ability to dance in front of someone… at least someone other than Zoc. Now, she realized that her fears were groundless.

And she thanked her teacher for that. As he continued to lead her through the dances, Ann somehow got the feeling that Zoc's ability to dance was a skill he'd inherited directly from his mother.

After a few hours, Ann was trying to hide her growing fatigue; this, however, didn't stop Zoc from sensing her tiredness and observing, "You look exhausted; maybe we should head back to your house."

"But it's not over yet," Ann protested.

"It won't be over for at least several more hours," Zoc informed her. "It usually won't end until the musicians are too tired to keep playing."

"In that case, we can go home-- I am kind of tired," Ann reluctantly admitted. As much of a shame as it was to leave, Ann's desire to rest overrode her desire to immerse herself completely in Zoc's culture. As soon as the song they were dancing to ended, they said their goodbyes to Hope then headed back to Ann's house.

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Please leave a review.


	26. Chapter 26

Special thanks to my betareader, not only for the ant language, but for the entire last scene with Zoc's great grandfather's journal, that she thought of and wrote.

Also she has completely finished betareading the story so updates will be posted regularly and more reviews will greatly motivate me to post them more often.

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When they got back to Ann's house, Ann stopped to hang her shawl in the closet. When she walked into the sitting room, Zoc was standing by the picture window watching the snow fall.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Ann breathed as she walked over next to him.

"Yes, it is," Zoc agreed, not looking away from the window. "I've… never seen it like this before-- usually, by the time it's cold enough to snow, it's far too cold to go out without freezing to death within a few minutes."

"Go get your cape," Ann told him, resting her hand on his upper arm.

"Why?" Zoc asked, finally managing to look away from the window.

"Because you're big enough now that you won't have to worry about freezing," Ann gently pointed out.

Zoc grinned. "You're right-- I'll be right back," he breathed, kissing Ann on the cheek before going down to the basement where he had left his cape.

When he came back upstairs, Ann had put her shawl back on and they went out to the back yard.

The pine trees that lined the fence had a light coating of snow, making it look like someone had painted the edges of the branches white and sprinkled glitter on them. The ground was covered enough that just the tips of the grass stuck out of the snow, and large, fluffy snowflakes were softly falling. Everything was perfectly silent, except for the quiet sound of the snow softly landing on the ground, and their own mesmerized breathing.

Zoc reached out his hand and let a few snowflakes land on his palm, watching as the flakes melted, and then looked up. The moon shone through the clouds just enough to make it easy to see the snow as it fell.

After a moment, Zoc slowly pulled Ann into his arms. "Thank you for suggesting this," he whispered, kissing her cheek. "I don't know if I would have ever thought about being able to do this now that I can make myself bigger. It's almost as beautiful as you are." He paused, then added, "Almost, but not quite."

"You're welcome," Ann murmured as she returned Zoc's kiss.

Zoc took Ann's left hand in his right, almost formally. Instantly realizing what he was doing, Ann smiled and moved her right hand up to his shoulder; his left hand rested at her waist, and they started to dance. It was the first time they had danced without music, but at that single moment, it all seemed so perfect with just the sound of the snow falling and the soft rustling of Ann's skirt.

After about ten minutes, Ann started to shiver slightly. Zoc took her cold hand from his shoulder and gently kissed her fingers. "We should go back inside," he suggested, wrapping his arm and one side of his cape around her.

"Okay," Ann agreed as they headed inside. Once they were in the house, Ann took off her shawl, carefully draping it over the back of a kitchen chair, and filled a kettle with water. Zoc came into the kitchen as Ann was setting the kettle on the stovetop. Stepping up behind her, he wrapped his arms around her waist and gently kissed her shoulder, observing, "Even your shoulders are cold."

"I really should have put on a heavier coat, although I'm sure you can think of a way to warm them," Ann said, smiling as Zoc started to kiss her shoulders and uppermost back before she had even finished her sentence.

Ann flinched softly as one of Zoc's cold antennae brushed her cheek. "Can you still feel with these?" Ann asked, gently tracing her finger along the antenna in question.

"A little, but I'm sure you could think of a way to warm them," Zoc murmured into Ann's neck.

Ann laughed, then gently kissed one antenna while caressing the other with her fingertips. She stopped short when the kettle started whistling. "You know, you're going to have to stop soon if you want any hot chocolate," Ann told him.

"What is that and are you sure it's worth stopping this to have?" Zoc asked, breathing the words softly into Ann's ear.

"Probably not," Ann admitted, "but my feet hurt and I'm still cold and sitting in front of the fireplace with a mug of hot chocolate and you to warm me sounds really nice. Besides, I'd be perfectly content to let you keep kissing me for hours." Ann turned in Zoc's arms and kissed him. "So we can keep doing this after the hot chocolate, okay?"

"_Tazhiohma,_" Zoc agreed, letting her go.

Ann made the drinks and they went into the sitting room, steaming mugs in hand. Zoc started the fire with his staff while Ann slipped off the hooped petticoat so she would be able to sit on the floor. When the fire was glowing and crackling merrily, they pulled Ann's afghan off of the back of the couch and sat down as close to the fireplace as possible, with the afghan wrapped around them as they drank their hot chocolate, a drink to which Zoc instantly took a shining.

After draining their mugs, they decided to read some more of one of Zoc's great grandfather's journals. One entry jumped out at the pair, the one dated--

"July eighteenth, nineteen ninety-four," Ann read aloud.

Beside her, Zoc gasped. "Zoc, what's wrong?" she asked with concern, resting her hand on his shoulder.

"July eighteenth was the day before the Cloudbreather…" He trailed off, staring deeply into to flames of the fireplace.

"Oh, Zoc," Ann murmured sympathetically, squeezing his shoulder.

"Read that one," Zoc hoarsely requested, closing his eyes.

""Zoc… are you sure?" Ann gently asked.

"Please, read that one," he repeated.

"But--" Ann protested.

"Please!" he nearly moaned. His already-closed eyes tightened shut and his hands violently clenched into fists. Then, very softly: "Please, Ann… Read that one."

"Okay, then," Ann quietly agreed, then read aloud:

_Lately, it seems as though I've been reflecting more and more on my eldest great-grandson, Zoc. May my beloved wife, the Mother, forgive me for this, but I favor him the most of all my grandson's pupas. In some ways, he reminds me very much of myself at that age, twelve years-- not yet full-grown, but no longer a pupa. Certainly one of the most awkward phases of one's life. Zoc handles this time of his childhood-- this time of the rise of conflicting thoughts, emotions, desires-- very well._

_Well, with one exception. Zoc is under the instruction of myself and my grandson, his father, to become _mirusha kyehmohqa_, colony wizard. I know he has the skill-- it is, quite literally, in his genes-- and he knows that, as well; however, he is uncertain of himself, hesitant. It shames his father to see his first son, the eldest of his pupas, be wary of using his gifts, as Zoc is. This only fuels my great-grandson's uncertainty, and he frequently turns to me for the guidance for which he is afraid to ask from his father. _

_Call it the sentimentality of an ant who's getting on in his years, but the knowledge that my great-grandson turns to me as a father-like figure is a greater comfort than anything this earth can offer. I see only good in Zoc, and hope-- no, I don't hope; I _know_-- that his life will be one of comfort and success. I have only love in my heart for him, and am fully confident in him._

_Simply enough… _alaishah zamiralaqihi.

_I'm proud of him._

_Signed,_

_Jahmqir Veneficius _

Ann looked up from the entry to study Zoc's reaction. The colony wizard, _mirusha kyehmohqa_, looked somewhere between numb and genuinely shocked as he processed his great-grandfather's words. "He… he never told me that before," Zoc finally murmured.

"What do you mean?" Ann asked.

"Great-Grandfather never told me he was proud of me," Zoc explained. "Oh, he'd compliment me, praise me, but… he never said, 'I'm proud of you.'

"It bothered me so much, Ann-- I can't even begin to describe it to you. Finally, a few nights before… before the Cloudbreather came, I asked him, 'Great-Grandfather, are you proud of me?'

"Great-Grandfather asked for a few days to think about it. I agreed to wait a few days, and we never discussed it again. And, obviously enough… a few days never came.

"After that, I always wondered what Great-Grandfather's answer would have been. I'd lay awake at night and try to imagine what he'd say, but… I was never able to think of anything. I'd given up hope of ever knowing, but now…"

Words temporarily failed him as he took a few shaky breaths. Zoc looked over to Ann with grateful, glassy blue eyes. "Thank you, Ann," he breathed. "Thank you… so much. Hearing those words, and hearing them come from you…" Zoc never finished that statement; he simply bowed his head and gave himself over to tears of relief and closure.

Gently, Ann wrapped her arms around Zoc's shoulders. Instantaneously, he threw his arms around Ann's neck and wept into her shoulder. She could feel his mandibles brush her just below her collarbone, but not break the skin. "Zoc? Are you going to be okay?" she asked gently, rubbing his back and being careful to avoid the spikes.

"More than you'll ever know," Zoc murmured, not pulling away from Ann; his grip on her body tightened, as if he was afraid that at any moment, they would be ripped apart.

Ann let Zoc hold onto her without even thinking of rushing his withdrawal, not even when they laid down and eventually fell asleep.

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Please leave a review.


	27. Chapter 27

Sorry this took me so long to get posted, I would have had it up as soon as I got the review on the last chapter, but I was trying to pack and get some cleaning done the day I got the review and had a family reunion to go to yesterday. Now I'm staying with my grandparents for a few days, which means I'll have a ton of spare time, so since the story is finished I'll try to post a new chapter every time I get at least one review on the last chapter I posted. I did this with another story, the last time I stayed with my grandparents and posted new chapters a couple times a day a few days, so as long as I'm with my grandparents it's up to my reviewers how often I post new chapters.

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When Ann woke up at seven the next morning, Zoc was gently kissing her shoulders. "It's time to wake up," he told her quietly.

"If I don't bother to, will you keep doing that?" Ann asked.

"For a little while," Zoc replied, slowly kissing his way from her shoulders down to the neckline of her dress. Finally opening her eyes, Ann reached up and pulled the pillow out from under her head, which lowered her head enough that Zoc could continue his way across to her other shoulder. Ann gently kissed his forehead, then his antennae, as he kissed to her shoulder and the center of her chest, his antennas curling over her shoulders and gently caressing them for a moment. Slowly, he kissed his way up her neck and to her lips. Ann and Zoc wrapped their arms around each other and completely lost track of time until the phone rang.

They involuntarily jumped, but Ann tightened her arms around Zoc and made no effort to pull away. "Shouldn't you answer that?" Zoc asked.

"The answering machine can get it, and if it's someone important, then I'll _consider _answering it," Ann replied, kissing Zoc again. He gladly returned the gesture.

They didn't stop again until Elnora's voice came on, on the answering machine: "Ann, I haven't heard from you since Friday, when you said we would contact someone about the safe on Saturday. I called you yesterday afternoon and evening-- are you alright?"

Ann quickly disentangled herself from Zoc when she heard that it was Elnora and how worried she sounded. Ann picked up the phone and said in one breath, "Elnora, this is Ann. Don't worry, I'm fine."

"Oh, thank goodness," Elnora sighed into the phone. "I was so worried about you when I didn't hear from you yesterday and you didn't answer your phone. Then there was a story on the news about a man killing his girlfriend and I kept worrying that something horrible had happened to you."

"Oh, Elnora, I'm so, so sorry," Ann apologized profusely, patting a few wisps of her hair back into place. "Something came up yesterday and I completely forgot about the safe. Then I was sewing part of the day and forgot to take the cordless up with me-- you must have called when I had the sewing machine running and I couldn't hear the phone over it. Last night, I was out… rather late and didn't think to check the answering machine when I got home. I'm terribly sorry about that."

"It's fine, dear," Elnora consoled, relief evident in her voice. "After seeing that news story and knowing you had been alone with your boyfriend, it just made me worry even more."

"You don't have to worry about me-- as long as I'm with Zoc, I'm perfectly safe," Ann reassured. "Really, the most dangerous thing about him is his cooking, although it's getting much better since I started teaching him."

"I'll try not to worry about you too much, then, dear-- I trust you," Elnora said. "So when do you want to call the news?"

"How about around noon?" Ann suggested, glancing up at her wall clock. "I'll come to the shop and we can meet them there."

""That sounds like a good plan," Elnora agreed. "I'll see you then."

Ann said goodbye, hung the phone up and dropped onto the couch, sighing deeply.

"Is everything alright?" Zoc asked, coming out of the kitchen. He walked up behind Ann and wordlessly began to massage her shoulders.

"Yeah, Elnora was just worried about me," Ann replied, melting at Zoc's touch. "We were going to call someone about the safe yesterday, but I completely forgot and then wasn't where I could hear the phone when she called. I'm going to meet her at the shop this afternoon." Ann stood and walked around the couch so she could stand in front of him and wrapped her arms around his neck and murmured teasingly before kissing him, "Now where were we?" Grinning mischievously, Zoc returned the kisses.

After a few moments, he pulled back and said, "We should eat breakfast before it gets cold."

"You made me something for breakfast?" Ann asked, a mild note of surprise in her voice.

"Yes," Zoc confirmed with an almost proud smile. "Lucas helped me make sure I knew how to make it when he was over to help with dinner. I was going to make it yesterday, but I couldn't move without you waking up and I thoroughly enjoyed the cooking lesson from you."

"Did you enjoy the cooking lesson, or the kissing while we waited for the food to cook?" Ann asked, smiling.

Zoc kissed her then said, "Both-- as long as I'm with you I'm happy, but… I do have to admit that the kissing was more fun. Would you be willing to help me with the dishes after we eat?"

"I suppose I could," Ann said, teasingly vague, as she pulled away from Zoc and set the alarm on an old looking alarm clock.

"What's that for?" Zoc queried.

"I promised Elnora I would be over at noon-- this is just to make sure that if doing the dishes ends the same way it did yesterday, we manage to stop in time for me to change and get ready. Although I could go ahead and change now…" Ann explained, starting to walk to the kitchen with her back to Zoc so he couldn't see her smile.

Zoc gently caught Ann by the wrist and pulled her back against his thorax. "Don't even think of changing until you absolutely have to," he murmured, kissing each shoulder.

"Alright, alright-- I won't change yet," Ann laughed.

When they stepped into the kitchen, Zoc pulled a glass casserole dish full of pancakes out of the oven and brought it over to the table. "These look delicious, but… how did you know to put them in the oven to keep them warm?" Ann asked, sitting at the table.

"Lucas suggested it,' Zoc explained. "He said that when you would make dinner for his family, if his parents weren't going to be home for a while, you would put the food in the oven at the lowest temperature to keep it warm. I thought it would be a good idea since I didn't think we would get out here right away after I woke you up."

"We could have tried, but that wouldn't have been as much fun," Ann answered as she began serving the pancakes.

After they finished eating, Ann started to wash the dishes. "I could help with those," Zoc observed smoothly, coming up behind her.

Ann rinsed her hands off and turned around, wrapping her arms around Zoc's neck. "Oh, I know, but I think we would both much rather have you remind me why I made this dress with this neckline," Ann replied, just as smooth.

Zoc gently planted a kiss on her lips and grinned, sighing as if it were all a huge bother, "Well, if you insist."

"Oh, I do," Ann murmured teasingly, then turned around and started doing the dishes again; meanwhile, Zoc started kissing over her shoulders and down along the neckline across her back, his antennas gently brushing her hair and cheeks.

Ann sighed contently, closing her eyes and enjoying the deeply intimate moment. A few moments later, she said, "Zoc."

"What?" he asked in alarm, looking up from her shoulder line.

"You'll absolutely have to marry me now," Ann announced.

Zoc sputtered for a moment. "I certainly hope to someday, but… why?" he asked.

"Because I think I would be horribly disappointed if I ever tried kissing a man who doesn't have antennae," Ann replied, gently kissing one of his antennae as it brushed her face near her cheekbone.

Zoc couldn't help but laugh, "And to think that I was so afraid of making you uncomfortable the first time I touched you with them."

"You couldn't have been more wrong," Ann informed him, turning around in his arms. "Your antennae are one of my favorite things about you not being human." She gently kissed the tip of one antennae before turning back to try to finish the dishes.

"Do you know what my favorite thing about you being human is?" Zoc asked, kissing her shoulder again.

"My shoulders?" Ann guessed.

"Granted, they seem easiest to get to sometimes, but I love your incredibly soft skin," Zoc replied sincerely. "It scares me sometimes that you could be easily hurt, but I love how it feels." Smiling softly, Ann reached up and traced one of Zoc's antennae with her fingertips before continuing to do the dishes.

Once Ann was finished, they moved into the sitting room and ended up back on the floor between the couch and the fireplace. They found themselves exchanging quite a few kisses, although even that tapered off after ten minutes or so; then, the pair laid on the floor talking, Zoc on his side propped up on one elbow and Ann on her back next to him. Zoc's hand occasionally stroking her shoulders or one of his antennae gently brushing over her hair or cheek. Every once in a while, they would start kiss again, then go back to talking.

When the alarm went off, they both groaned. "Do we really have to?" Zoc asked, almost pleading.

"Sadly, yes," Ann confirmed, wanting to stay there as much as it sounded like Zoc wanted to.

"Could we start doing this more often?" Zoc asked.

"What-- the kissing or the talking?" Ann asked, smiling.

"All three," Zoc replied.

"Three?" Ann repeated.

"Kissing, talking and you in this dress," Zoc elaborated, his fingertips lightly brushing her collarbone.

Ann grinned and suggested, "This dress is a _little _fancy for lying on the floor, doing nothing but kissing. How about the kissing, the talking and a nightgown or a few shirts with necklines like this?"

"Perfect," Zoc said, leaning in and kissing her.

When Zoc pulled away, Ann proposed, "We could do this in the evenings, when I don't have homework, since we don't have to worry about dancing lessons every night. Although I love dancing with you, so expect me to request that from time to time."

"A good thing, because I love dancing with you, too," Zoc said, kissing Ann one more time before standing and helping her up, then kissing the back of her hand in a most gentlemanly fashion.

"I really should go get ready to go," Ann announced sadly, reluctantly pulling away.

"Do you want me to make you something for lunch so you can eat before you leave?" Zoc offered.

"That would be wonderful," Ann replied, moving toward the stairs. "There's some sliced turkey in the meat drawer in the fridge. I'd be perfectly happy with a sandwich with a couple of slices of that and some cheese." So saying, Ann started up the stairs.

When she came back down stairs thirty minutes later, Zoc had her food sitting on the table, complete with a brown paper bag and her name written on the bag in a barely legible hand, and was in the sitting room putting the afghan back on the couch.

"Thank you so much," Ann said gratefully, walking into the sitting room and planting a small kiss on Zoc's cheek. "I never would have had time to make lunch and get changed, let alone straighten anything up."

"You're welcome, but… is that dress really that hard to get off?" Zoc asked. "I don't think it's ever taken you that long to change before."

"It's not the dress that took so long-- it was the corset that I had to unlace to get off that took so long," Ann replied.

"What's a corset?" Zoc asked, brow furrowing at the new term.

"It's something that women used to wear under their dresses," Ann explained, "and the dress I wore wouldn't have looked right without one. They're usually tight enough to make it hard to breathe, but I've never wanted to make mine that tight. This one had laces that went from just below the back neckline to below my waist, and that took forever to get unlaced and off of me." Ann grinned somewhere between devilishly and seductively. "I think if when we're married, I'll just let you deal with unlacing it."

"Can I do it while I'm kissing your shoulders?" Zoc asked, walking up behind her and kissing her neck. The mere action sent pleasant chills and tingles up and down Ann's spine.

"Of course," Ann confirmed, turning to kiss him once more, before quickly picking up her brown bag lunch and leaving to meet Elnora.

* * *

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	28. Chapter 28

Sorry to my reviewer on the last chapter, but I'm too greedy for reviews to post it all at once, plus I still need to read over the last few chapters, but I am combining some of them into longer chapters so it won't take as long to finish .

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When Ann got home that evening, she tried to start a fire in the fireplace, but after a few failed attempts to get the flames to moves from the papers to the kindling, she let out a frustrated sigh and dropped onto the couch.

"You know, I could teach you an easier way to do that," Zoc observed from behind her.

Ann jumped and whipped around to look at him, only to smile and ask, "What are you doing here at this hour?"

"I saw you get home and thought I would come see how everything went," Zoc answered, coming around to sit next to Ann on the sofa, resting his staff against the piece of furniture's arm.

"Aside from the facts that I don't even like having my picture taken, we spent a couple hours being interviewed in front of a video camera and that I was horribly nervous the whole time, everything went fine. We showed them a bunch of the stuff that we've taken over to Elnora's and they want to came over and get footage of some of the stuff we still have here when they come to interview Lucas and his family," Ann explained.

"Do you know when that will be?" Zoc asked.

"Not yet," Ann replied, shaking her head. "The news station will contact the Nickles and set up a time and then let me know so they can see the stuff. We should have plenty of time to go over what we're telling them with Lucas again before they interview him."

"You know he'll start complaining about how many times we've made him go over this again," Zoc said, mimicking the human boy's whine extremely well.

"I know, but we can't take any chances of there being any discrepancies in our story when we tell them how we learned about the safe and found it," Ann pointed out.

"Very true," Zoc conceded. "So how about your first lesson with the staff to take your mind off of all of that?"

Ann hesitated a moment. "Are you sure I can do this?" she asked doubtfully, looking down at her hands.

Zoc reached over and lifted Ann's eyes to meet his. "There's no doubt in my mind that you can do this," he announced, pulling her to her feet, grabbing his staff and shrinking them.

"Why did you shrink us?" Ann asked as she looked around her sitting room from her significantly smaller vantage point.

"It will be safer this way," Zoc explained. "You'll be less likely to accidentally destroy anything if you have trouble controlling the staff initially."

"Okay," Ann agreed warily.

"Try not to worry about it-- you'll do fine," Zoc reassured her as he handed her the staff. As the staff settled into Ann's hands, Zoc turned her so she was facing the fire place and showed her how to hold the staff properly. Having done so, he stepped behind her and wrapped one arm around her waist and rested the other on her shaking arm, then started explaining how to make the staff work.

After over an hour of miserably failed attempts, Ann let out frustrated groan. "Zoc, nothing's happening! I just can't do this-- it's impossible!" she announced, trying to pull away from him.

"Two things, Ann-- first: nothing is impossible. Second: A wizard knows no such word," Zoc answered, not letting go of Ann's waist.

Ann turned sharply in his arms and tartly reminded him, "Well, _I'm _not a wizard."

"Maybe you'll never be as powerful of a wizard as I am," Zoc agreed, "but like it or not, the fact that you were able to use the staff means that, in some way, you _are _a wizard. If you can just learn to control the staff, who knows how powerful you could be? You _have _to keep trying."

"But what if you're wrong? What if me being able to use it was just because you were in danger? I'll never be able to use it again, so we're wasting our time. I think we should just quit for tonight and for forever," Ann announced.

"We're not quitting until you get the staff to work," Zoc stated, turning Ann back around and gently tightening his grip on her arm so she couldn't turn or move away from him.

Ann reluctantly raised the staff and tried again several more times, finally moaning, "Zoc this isn't working! Why can't we just quit-- I've had a long day and I need a break."

"You can take a break when you get the staff to work," Zoc replied calmly.

"Did you ever think that maybe you're wrong? That I _really _can't do this?" she snapped.

"Not for an instant. Now try again-- you _can _do this," Zoc answered.

"Quit saying that!" Ann shot back bitterly, trying to loosen Zoc's arm from around her waist. "You're wrong, I can't do this and we're just wasting our time and effort!"

"Ann, just try again," Zoc suggested, still sounding completely calm as he held one of his hands over hers so she couldn't let go of the staff.

"I can't do this! Zoc, let me go!" Ann demanded.

"Not until you, at the very least, make the crystal glow," Zoc told her.

Throwing the staff across the room or breaking it across her knee like a twig were beginning to look like very tempting, entertaining activities for Ann, whose patience was being thoroughly tested. It was beginning to anger her that Zoc, who claimed to love her more than anything on the face of the earth, wouldn't listen to her. "Zoc, let me go _now_!" she demanded coldly, her voice rising as she tried to look at him over her shoulder.

Zoc acted as if he was trying to conceal a smile as he flatly denied her.

Ann was about to start screaming the Ant obscenities she'd picked up from some worker ants at him when she felt the staff start to vibrate slightly in her hands. She looked down at it; the staff was glowing and sparks of light seemed to be being pulled into it. She tightened her grip with the hand Zoc wasn't holding in place just as it fired, and she was jolted back against Zoc.

Even though she considered it too little too late, Zoc let Ann go and grinned at her. "I told you that you could do it!" he announced with a grin. "You were just concentrating too hard and I couldn't get you distracted enough to get it to work."

"You were _deliberately _trying to piss me off?" Ann asked angrily.

Zoc looked a little nervous. "Yes-- I didn't know what else to try," he explained, carefully moving beside her and wrapping one hand around the staff, which had started to glow again.

Ann glanced at the implement in her hand, shocked that not only had she gotten it to work, but it looked like if she wanted to, she could make it work again. "You couldn't think of anything better to try than making me mad at you?" she repeated incredulously.

"I really am sorry for upsetting you, Ann," Zoc apologized, "but all I know about teaching someone else to use the staff is what I saw when I was a pupa-- I was the only one who couldn't get it to work. After twenty minutes of trying, Great-Grandfather took me aside and spent over an hour trying to teach me to use it.

"When I wanted to quit, my father showed up and they _both _said I couldn't quit until I made it work. After another hour of trying, I was so sick and tired of it all, I started arguing with them about it, but they kept pushing me and pushing me and pushing me.

"Finally, I was so angry that I wasn't even _thinking _about the staff and it suddenly worked. Granted, I ended up with a few minor injuries from being knocked backwards form the force, but ever since then I've been able to _make it work_. Great-grandfather told me that some wizards have a harder time using the staff than others, and that it takes a combination of an extreme emotion and slight distraction before they can use it for the first time, and that, that was how he learned to use it. You were certainly able to use it a lot quicker than I was."

"But if it was hard just the first time, shouldn't I have been able to use it after the spider attacked you?" Ann asked.

"I think you were _too_ distracted-- you weren't thinking about using it at all when the attack happened, nor did you didn't have time to think about it right afterwards; you couldn't remember how to use it.

"Based on what my father and Great-Grandfather told me, after the first time you use the staff, your mind and body will remember how to use it without you having to think about it. But you were so panicked the first time that you didn't have time to register what happened," Zoc explained. "Can you ever forgive me for making you so angry?" His eyes grew wide and his antennae started drooping slightly.

Ann couldn't help but burst out laughing. "I didn't think it was possible for you to look any cuter or funnier than when you're pouting," she announced, wiping away a few tears. "_Obviously _I was wrong."

"But am I cute enough to get you to forgive me?" Zoc asked, milking his advantage for all it was worth.

"I don't know," Ann said vaguely, letting go of the staff and loosely wrapping her arms around Zoc's neck. "I might be willing to forgive you… assuming, of course, we quit the magic training for tonight and spend the rest of the evening in each other's arms."

Zoc grinned, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Well, not _all _evening-- we'll have to stop long enough to eat dinner at some point," he pointed out before making them bigger.

"And I'll have to wash the dishes afterwards," Ann added, returning his grin.

"I'll do them for you, and you can rest-- you _did _say you had a long day," Zoc offered.

"But that wouldn't be any fun," Ann half-whined.

"You're always going to make me stand around while you do all the work, aren't you?" Zoc half-asked, half-stated.

"I'm sure there will be come a day when I'm so completely exhausted that I won't have the energy to stand doing dishes while you kiss my neck and stroke my hair and cheeks with your antennae," Ann replied, "but unless I suddenly find myself on my deathbed, don't count on that happening anytime soon."

After some time, Ann and Zoc made a quick dinner, and spent the rest of the evening curled up together on the couch in front of the fireplace.

* * *

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	29. Chapter 29

That Thursday was Thanksgiving, and after assuring Elnora that she could handle making most of the meal by herself a couple dozen times, Ann had finally convinced her not to come over early, leaving Ann and Zoc to make it together.

Ann woke up on Thanksgiving Day lying on the couch with her head on Zoc's thorax. Considering that Ann didn't have classes that day, Zoc had stayed overnight. As much as she wanted to lie there for a while longer, she knew that they had to get everything made, including starting the turkey, and _soon_.

She slowly started to trace over the patterning on Zoc's thorax with her fingertips. When that didn't wake him, she moved to tracing over the patterning on his right arm then, carefully shifting so she could reach, she ran her fingers over the patterning on his forehead. Just as she was beginning to wonder how he could sleep through all of that, she noticed the corners of his mouth starting to turn up a little. Ann smiled gently. "You know, we have to get the cooking done-- you can't lay here pretending to be asleep all morning," she told him playfully.

"Why is this holiday so important?" Zoc questioned. "I'd much rather just lie here with you for a while longer."

"I'll tell you about Thanksgiving while we cook, and as soon as everyone leaves tonight, we can lie around in each others arms as long as you want," Ann replied. "I won't have any classes until Monday, and Elnora isn't going to open the shop again until Monday, either, so we can spend a nice, long three-day weekend together."

"That sounds absolutely wonderful," Zoc murmured, running his fingers through Ann's thick dark hair.

Ann grinned. "I thought you might like that," she replied, kissing him on the cheek, then standing. "Come on-- we have to make enough turkey, rolls, mashed potatoes and gravy and the obligatory casseroles for seven, and I want to try to make a chocolate pie. Elnora is brining pumpkin pie, but I like chocolate better and I know Lucas feels the same way."

"And what does all that mean?" Zoc questioned as he stood. All this talk of _Thanksgiving_ and _mashed potatoes_ and pies made from pumpkins was going completely over his head.

"It means we better get started if we plan on eating all this before Christmas," Ann announced, pulling Zoc into the kitchen.

The pair spent the rest of the morning cooking. Multiple times, Ann felt herself getting dangerously close to crying. As long as she could remember she had helped her parents make Thanksgiving dinner; now, this year was her first Thanksgiving without them, and making this meal without them was breaking her heart a thousand times over.

Every time she came close to tears-- the first time when Ann looked at her mother's handwritten recipe card for holiday yeast rolls-- Zoc would wrap his arms around her or rest a comforting hand on her shoulder. Late in the morning (or early in the afternoon, it was getting harder to tell), when his hands were covered with graham cracker crumbs and butter from the pie crust, he gently stroked her cheek and hair with his antennae. Even if he was working at the opposite end of the kitchen, he was still able to tell when Ann was getting upset, and would always stop what he was doing to comfort her, and it made the process so much easier on her.  


They had just finished setting the table when someone knocked at the door. "I'll see you tonight," Zoc murmured, embracing Ann gently and kissing her forehead before heading towards the basement.

Ann sighed sadly, wishing he could stay, as she watched him leave, then put on a cheerful face and answered the front door.

--

That evening, after the Nickle family and Elnora had left, Zoc came back and spent a couple of hours teaching Ann how to control the staff. Now that she _knew _she could use the staff, Ann started to enjoy the lessons and didn't really want to stop. They eventually took a break and ate the last two pieces of chocolate pie that Ann had saved for them, then sat in front of the fireplace, talking and kissing until they fell asleep in each others arms sometime after midnight.

The next morning, even after being up so much later than she was use to, Ann woke up early and started planting gentle kisses on Zoc's face and antennae to wake him up.

"What are you doing awake?" Zoc mumbled drowsily. "You should still be asleep, as late as we were up last night."

"I can't sleep any longer-- it's the day after Thanksgiving," Ann said eagerly, shaking Zoc's forearm.

"Is this another human holiday?" Zoc questioned.

"Not really," Ann answered. "It was just always a tradition in my family to decorate for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving."

"So you celebrate one holiday… and as soon as it's over, you start decorating for the next one?" Zoc asked, not bothering to loosen his arms from around Ann. "I thought Christmas wasn't until about a month after Thanksgiving?"



"True, it's not for another month," Ann replied, "and yes, some people start decorating right after Thanksgiving-- I'm one of them. Besides, I can't wait to tell you about mistletoe. I think you'll like it." Ann grinned when Zoc finally opened his eyes.

"It must be something good to get you grinning like that. I suppose if you insist, I _could _make myself get up," Zoc said, running his fingers through Ann's hair before finally letting go of her.

They spent the rest of the morning bringing boxes of Christmas decorations up from the basement. Early in the afternoon and after a brief lunch of the equally traditional Thanksgiving leftovers, Ann put the lights and antique glass beads on the tree while telling Zoc about Christmas. When she had finished with the lights and beads, she started opening the boxes of ornaments. She gasped and tensed sharply as she opened the box of her mother's ornaments.

"What's wrong?" Zoc asked, concern evident in his voice and eyes as he quickly joined her, taking her hand in his.

"Do you remember that night you came over and I had completely broken down and was crying so much?" Ann asked quietly, unable to tear her eyes away from the ornaments.

"Yes-- that was the first night you fell asleep in my arms," Zoc replied.

"This is the box I was looking through before you showed up," Ann told him softly.

"Are you sure you want to get these things out?" Zoc asked delicately.

"It's been a family tradition ever since my parents got married, and I plan to continue it… no matter how hard it might be," Ann said determinedly. "All I ask is that you please… stay with me."

"Don't worry-- I'm not going anywhere," Zoc confirmed, kissing her forehead and gently squeezing her hand.

Over the next hour, Ann told Zoc about why the ornaments were so important and what each one represented as they put them on the tree. More than once, she would spontaneously begin to cry from missing her family so much, and her hands would shake so badly that she would have to pass Zoc the ornament she was holding at the time to keep from dropping it. And without fail, Zoc would carefully set the ornament aside and hold her close, comforting her, whispering Ant lullabies into her ear until her tears ceased.

After putting the last ornament on the tree, Ann leaned back against Zoc's thorax as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "Now all I have to do is find a new ornament for this year," she sighed, resting her hands on his forearms. "Normally, the ornament represents the most exciting and wonderful thing that's happened in the past year, although I doubt I'm going to find one with an ant and romantic implications."

"I'm sure you'll come up with something," Zoc consoled. "Now when are you going to tell me about the mistletoe?"

"As soon as we're done putting the other decorations up," Ann promised, pulling out a pine garland and some red bows. "If we get the mistletoe out now, trust me-- we'll never get the rest of the decorating done."

Ann and Zoc spent the next couple of hours putting up the rest of the Christmas decorations around the house. Finally, early on in the evening, Ann got out the mistletoe. "_This _is mistletoe," she told Zoc as she held it up.

A look of concentration briefly flickered over Zoc's features. "It's _qemjalai_," he announced finally. "I've used it in healing potions, and it's disgusting stuff-- what do humans find so special about it?"

"Well, whenever two people are standing under mistletoe, they're supposed to kiss," Ann explained. "Don't ask me why because I'm not very sure-- I think it has ties to Celtic and Norse mythology, but the only thing that I know for certain is that that's the tradition."



Zoc grinned. "You were right-- I'm _definitely _going to like this part of Christmas," he confirmed. "Where are you going to hang it?"

"How about in the middle of the kitchen?" Ann suggested. "It'll give us an excuse to kiss other than when I'm doing dishes."

"That sounds wonderful," Zoc said as they walked into the kitchen.

Standing in the middle of the room, Zoc handed Ann his staff and accepted the mistletoe, completely straightened his legs to make him tall enough to reach the ceiling, and hung the mistletoe. Lowering himself, Zoc accepted the staff from Ann, and the crystal started to glow. Ann was suddenly very, very glad she had gotten real mistletoe instead of the fake stuff her parents had used for years-- the mistletoe was quickly growing across the ceiling and into the other rooms.

When the crystal stopped glowing, Ann wrapped her arms around Zoc's neck and said, "See? I told you once we got the mistletoe out we wouldn't get anything else done."

"You were definitely right," Zoc said as he leaned his staff against the counter and wrapped his arms around Ann, and the couple gave themselves over to the mistletoe tradition.

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	30. Chapter 30

To my reviewer, please include an email address with your next review or email me at hekaanna at hot mail . com and I'll answer some of your questions that I don't reply to here. Don't worry I'm not discouraged, I know some of the last chapters weren't my best, I had been suffering through horrible writers block and hadn't been able to move the story on past the Christmas decorating from about December until April when I finally wrote the rest. I do plan on eventually going back and reading over the whole thing and adding more to it eventually, I just felt so bad about not posting anything in so long that I wanted to get something posted. I'll keep a list of the scenes that you think should have been extended with the story and include those when I add to it. If anyone else has scenes they think should have been longer or included let me know and I'll add it to my list.

Over the next three weeks Ann, Elnora and the Nickle's sorted and cataloged everything from the safe, with Zoc helping Ann when no one else was around.

Near the end of those three weeks, Zoc put the last box of sorted coins with the other boxes, then walked over behind Ann where she was still sitting at the table, putting the last of the supplies away. "So what are we going to do the rest of the day?" he asked, gently massaging her shoulders.

Ann leaned her head back against Zoc's thorax and looked up at him. "I think it's about time I get my Christmas baking done," she told him.

"I finally get to taste all the cookies and candy you've been telling me about?" Zoc asked, a note of eagerness in his voice.

"Of course," Ann replied, grinning at him.

"Then let's get started," he said, leaning down to kiss her forehead before pulling her chair back so she could get up.

As they entered the kitchen, Zoc asked, "What are we making first?"

"I think we'll start off with double batches of buckeyes and chocolate crinkle cookies, because those are the best and they have to chill in the fridge for several hours before we can finish them," Ann told him, opening a cabinet.

"Why do we need to make double batches of them?" Zoc asked.

"Because they're my favorite and if we don't make double batches, there won't be enough left to give as gifts," Ann explained.

"They're _that _good?" Zoc asked.

Ann smiled and said, "You'll see when you get to taste them."

By the time evening had rolled around, Ann and Zoc had made fudge, hard tack, the peanut butter mix for the buckeyes and several types of cookies."

"I think that's everything-- we can finish the buckeyes, chocolate crinkle cookies, peanut blossoms and cut out cookies tomorrow," Ann announced as she put the cutout cookie dough in the fridge to chill over night.

"So do you want another magic lesson, or are we just going to relax for the rest of the evening?" Zoc asked.

Ann walked over to him, wrapping one arm loosely around his neck and closing her other hand around his staff. "How about we just relax tonight and worry about magic lessons tomorrow?" Ann suggested, smiling as the crystal glowed for a moment and the mistletoe hanging on the ceiling spread across the ceiling and she kissed him.

When they both pulled away for a breath, Zoc told Ann, "I didn't think you could do that yet."

"Do what?" Ann asked.

"Make the mistletoe grow," Zoc replied.

"What do you mean? I didn't do that," Ann told him, confused.

"You must have-- I wasn't even thinking about it," he answered.

"But I've never even tried making stuff grow before," Ann said.

"Were you thinking about it?" Zoc asked.

"Yes, I was, but I couldn't have done that. Could I?" Ann asked uncertainly.

"Try shrinking it back to normal or spreading it to the other rooms," Zoc suggested, handing her the staff.

Ann tried a few times, but couldn't even get the crystal to light up. "It _must _have been you-- I can't do it," Ann declared, handing the staff back to him.

Zoc thought for a moment, then said, "Try again."

"But I just tried, and it didn't work," Ann pointed out.

"Try it while _I'm_ holding the staff," Zoc told her.

Sighing, Ann grabbed the staff and tried again; once again, nothing happened. "You see? It's not going to work, so it _had _to have been you," Ann asserted.

"Try it one more time," Zoc told her, wrapping one arm around Ann and pulling her close to him.

Ann tried again; this time, the crystal lit up and the mistletoe shrunk back down to its normal size. "How can we even be sure who did that?" Ann pointed out. "I mean, you had to have been thinking about it, too."

"Try doing something else," Zoc gently commanded.

"Like what?" Ann asked.

"Anything you haven't leaned to do with the staff yet," Zoc told her.

Ann glanced around the room for a moment, then noticed a bare African violet plant sitting on the windowsill that was behind Zoc; a second later, the crystal glowed and flowers grew on the plant. "Oh my… It really was me," Ann gasped in disbelief, staring at the flower.

"What did you do?" Zoc asked.

"The African violet," Ann said, pointing to it.

Zoc turned to look and said, "Told you it wasn't me."

"But how is this possible?" Ann asked.

"Honestly… I don't know," Zoc replied. "I've never heard of anything like this happening before. My best guess would be that somehow, when we're _that _close together and both touching the staff, you can tap into my powers and use them."

"You've really never heard of anything like this happening before?" Ann asked.

"Not even in all of Great-Grandfather's papers," Zoc confirmed, "but he did believed there was much more that we could do with the crystal than we knew, and that it was just a matter of having the time to learn what all can be done with it. We'll have to see just how much you can do."

"That _can _wait until tomorrow, though, right?" Ann asked, wrapping her arms around Zoc's neck.

"I suppose it could," Zoc replied, leaning the staff against the wall, wrapping his arms around Ann and kissing her.

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	31. Chapter 31

On Christmas Eve, Ann and Zoc were curled up relaxing in front of the fireplace. "Are you _sure _there's nothing you want for Christmas?" Ann asked.

"I told you before-- all I want is to be with you every moment the Nickles and Elnora aren't here, and half of whatever cookies and candy are left over after the fact," Zoc told her for the hundredth time in past few days.

"I was going to do that anyway-- are you sure there's nothing else you want?" Ann asked.

"Only one other thing I can think of," Zoc said.

"Which is?" Ann prompted.

"I'll tell you tomorrow," Zoc said, gently kissing the top of Ann's head. "I do think I'll go ahead and give you your present tonight, though."

"That's not fair, giving me presents when you won't even suggest anything I could get or do for you," Ann said, mocking scorn.

"You made this gown because you knew I would like it, didn't you?" Zoc asked in reference to Ann's dress from the snow celebration, running his hand over her bare shoulder.

"Yes, but--" Ann protested.

"Then you _did _do something for me; now open your present," Zoc told her as a small package floated out from under the Christmas tree.

"Are you sure I shouldn't wait until tomorrow?" Ann asked as she caught the present.

"I'm quite sure-- this way, you'll have more time to enjoy it," Zoc told her.

Ann unwrapped the box and opened it, gasping when she saw what was inside, "Zoc, it's perfect." Ann held up a hand carved ornament of her, wearing her dress from the snow celebration, and Zoc dancing. Ann turned around and threw her arms around Zoc's neck, kissing his cheek. "Thank you so much-- I thought I was never going to find an ornament for this year."

"I just couldn't let that happen," Zoc told her, kissing the top of her head again.

Ann must have fallen asleep sometime after that, because the next thing she knew, it was seven-thirty in the morning on Christmas Day. As she sat up, Ann noted (with concern) that she was alone on the couch. A few moments later, Zoc walked into the room, carrying a closed rose.

"What's that for?" Ann asked.

Apparently, Zoc had assumed Ann would still be asleep, because the sound of Ann's voice, which normally put a warm smile on his face, made him jump and nearly drop the rose. "I'm sorry," Ann apologized.

"It's okay, Ann. And this is… your Christmas present," Zoc told her, a hint of nervousness more than evident in his voice.

"Another rose for my collection?" Ann asked, glancing over at the vase of roses on the mantel that Zoc always kept fresh roses in for her and smiling.

"Not… _exactly_," Zoc said slowly, hesitantly, as he joined her on the couch, taking a deep breath. "I'll understand if you need more time to decide, but I wanted to make sure you had this as soon as possible." The crystal on Zoc's staff, leaning against the fireplace and looking as natural next to the Christmas tree as the presents under it, started to glow, and the rose very slowly started to open.

"Ann, I love you more than I ever thought was possible," Zoc went on, taking the conversation in a _very_ interesting direction. "All I want is to spend the rest of my life showing you how much I love you. Basically, what I'm asking is… _Zh-zhemai'ahlai ili'imsah mashai'aq_?" The rose was in full bloom now, and looked very much like an ordinary rose, with one crucial exception: the engagement ring in the center. "Will you marry me?"

Ann's fingers flew up to her mouth and her dark brown eyes widened. Was this a good dream that was about to end, leaving her stuck in the Nickle's basement, barely eking out a living? Somehow, seeing the engagement ring glisten in the firelight and the expectation in Zoc's blue eyes was enough to confirm in Ann's mind that _this_ was the reality she'd been blessed with. For a moment, surprise and delight silenced her, making her throw her arms around Zoc's neck, nearly knocking the rose from his hands. "Yes," Ann finally managed to gasp between tears of happiness. "Nothing in the world could possibly make me happier."

Zoc held Ann at arm's length, gently brushed the tears from her cheek and carefully took the ring from the rose and slipped it onto her finger, the stone glowing for a second as he did so. "I know it's not a diamond like humans usually use," he said sadly, laying his hand on Ann's, "but I couldn't find any and thought you should have your own crystal, should you ever need it and can't get to my staff."

"I don't care about diamonds," Ann dismissed, "but where did you find another crystal?" Ann asked.

"I broke it off of the crystal on the staff," Zoc told her, briefly glancing at his staff.

"You… broke a piece off of your great-grandfathers staff to make me this ring?" Ann asked in disbelief.

"Yes--" Zoc began slowly.

Ann pulled him into an exoskeleton-cracking hug. "This is better than all the diamonds in the world," she announced, more tears filling her eyes and spilling out onto her cheeks. "I know how much that staff means to you-- I can't believe you would break a piece off of it for me."

"The staff does mean a lot to me, but you're the _most important _thing in the world to me," Zoc told her, then hesitantly added, "I just hope you don't mind me using that particular ring."

Ann looked more closely at the ring, and realized it was her Great-Grandmother Mary's engagement ring, the one that had been missing the stone, that they had found in the safe. "I don't mind at all," Ann replied happily as she kissed him again.

They spent the next several hours discussing human and ant wedding traditions and making sure Ann could make the crystal on the ring work (exchanging happy kisses every few moments was on the agenda, as well) until someone knocked at the door.

"I'm truly starting to hate the holidays," Ann said as she managed to disentangle herself from Zoc.

"At least they're bringing all the food this time-- we'll have more time to relax together," Zoc pointed out.

"I know, I just hate it that you can't stay," Ann replied regretfully.

"Don't worry about it-- we can always make up for that lost time together after they're gone," Zoc consoled, then kissed her and headed to the basement.

As Zoc left, Ann answered the door and helped Elnora carry some stuff in. "I have the perfect Christmas present for you, if you want it." Elnora told Ann as they entered the kitchen.

"What is it?" Ann asked, smiling.

"Well, I know how much you want to get away from town and out into the country and how much you love old houses," Elnora lead in. "Well, a friend of mine who lives in Florida is selling her house here. A huge old house from the eighteen fifties-- has all of the original wood work and everything. The only thing that's been changed since it was built was a bathroom was put in on each floor and in the master bedroom.

"It's a beautiful house, Ann, and on a wonderful piece of land-- a pond, surrounded by fields on three sides with a forest out back and surrounding the fields. The original owners liked their privacy so they left forest all the way around the property rather than cutting it all down.

"Granted, it does need repainted and most of the interior needs paint or wallpaper, but otherwise it's in perfect shape. I can take you out to see it later today and if you like it I'll go ahead and make the down payment for you as a Christmas present and then you can pay for the rest _in spades _after the things from the safe is sold."

"It sounds perfect, Elnora," Ann said, then stopped short, realizing that moving would mean leaving Zoc. "…It wouldn't work though-- I mean, I just moved in _here_."

"So?" Elnora replied flippantly. "You can sell this house-- the only reason I bought it for you was so you could get to the safe. I certainly never expected you to stay here, since I knew you wanted to be out in the country."

"No, I like it here very much," Ann answered. "I'd rather stay here."

"You know you can't lie to me," Elnora gently pointed out. "You were just telling me last week how much you wished you could move to the country-- what's the real reason you want to stay here?"

Ann hesitated a moment, and was so grateful to hear a knock at the door. "That's probably the Nickles," Ann said as she left to get the door.

A few hours later, after everyone had opened their presents and eaten dinner, Lucas and his father left, while Doreen and Elnora stayed to help Ann clean up.

While Doreen loaded the dishwasher in the kitchen, Ann and Elnora were folding the green silk tablecloth. Suddenly, Elnora stopped and caught Ann's hand. "Where did you get this?" she asked, looking at Ann's ring.

"It's just Grandma Mary's ring-- my boyfriend had the stone put in it," Ann explained vaguely, folding the cloth over her arm.

"What type of stone is it?" Elnora asked.

"In all honesty, I don't know-- it's a piece of a stone that originally belonged to his great-grandfather," Ann answered, hoping she didn't look and sound as nervous as she felt. "It was so sweet of him, really-- I couldn't believe he had a piece broken off of it for this ring."

"What did you say your boyfriend's name was, again?" Elnora asked.

"Zoc Veneficus," Ann replied, relived for a moment that she didn't have to avoid telling her his last name. At least until Elnora's eyes widened and she suddenly went and told Doreen to go home, that she could help Ann finish up.

Once Doreen had left, mildly confused and wishing them both a merry Christmas once more over her shoulder, Elnora turned to Ann and said, "Are they _really _still alive?"

"What do you mean?" Ann asked, trying not to sound scared.

"I mean the talking ants-- the ones who escaped from the lab that used to be in this area." Elnora said.

Ann stood there, for a moment too stunned and scared to say anything. The _only _way Elnora could have known about the ants was if she had been involved with the lab. And if, Mother forbid, she had been, what would she do if she found out that some of the colony had survived? "E-Elnora, I don't know what you're talking about," Ann said trying to keep her hands from shaking.

Elnora sensing Ann's nervousness and mounting panic, Elnora told her gently, "Ann, you can tell me-- I'm not going to do anything to hurt them. If you don't believe me, come back to the shop with me."

Ann hesitated a moment. "Okay, just let me get my coat," Ann agreed, walking over to the closet and making the ring glow as she reached for her coat. She comforted herself with the knowledge that she would be able to protect herself if need be as she put on her coat and grabbed her car keys.

"We can take my car," Elnora offered.

"I'd much rather drive my own car," Ann told her, a part of her thinking she was being overly precautious, but still afraid of how Elnora knew about the ants and what she would do, knowing they were still alive.

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	32. Chapter 32

3 chapters left

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When Ann and Elnora got to the shop a few minutes later, Elnora showed Ann to a small locked room on the top floor. Inside was an old bed, a dresser with a small wooden chest on it and several boxes stacked around the room.

"What do you want to show me?" Ann asked, staying a few feet behind Elnora as visions of Elnora shoving her into the room and locking her in there until she told her about the ants filled her mind and made it a challenge to remain calm.

"Ann, honey, you've got to relax-- I'm not going to hurt the ants or you," Elnora consoled, pocketing the key to the room. "Come look at this." Very carefully, Elnora opened one of the boxes.

Ann stepped up next to her and gasped when Elnora opened a photo album. On the first page was a photograph of an injured and bandaged queen ant, lying on the same bed that was in the room, with two small girls, about nine and five years old, sitting on either side of her and holding one of her hands. "What?" Ann gasped, taking a shocked step backwards. "How did you--?"

"This was back in the late forties, Ann. I was driving out to meet someone to look at some antiques one morning and I saw something lying by some bushes a few feet from the road. When I stopped to see what it was, I found her-- horribly injured. It's a wonder she hadn't died yet, when I look back on it.

"I was more than a little terrified-- I wanted to leave and call the police, but she begged me not to tell anyone about her. I don't know how long I stood there to shocked by the fact that her reaction to me was to _talk_, but when I finally recovered from my shock I decided whatever she was, if she was intelligent enough to talk, I didn't want to risk her ending up in some lab to be studied, and I told her so. When she told me that's exactly what she had just escaped from, my mind was made up-- I brought her home with me, cleaned and bandaged her wounds and hid her up here until I could tell my husband what had happened.

"He thought I was crazy until he actually saw her. I was just convincing him to let her stay until her injuries healed when my girls got home and came upstairs looking for us. Their reactions to her couldn't have been more different-- Annie, the oldest, thought she was amazing and walked right into the room to get a closer look, but Rebecca screamed and hid behind my skirt. Before the night was over both girls didn't want to leave her side.

"She only survived a few days-- long enough to tell us about what had happened to her colony in the lab, and about the ones who had been murdered and the ones who had escaped. Those who escaped included her husband, Jahmqir Veneficus."

As Ann reacted strongly to the name, which she recognized from the journals she had Zoc had spent so much time reading, Elnora suggested gently, "Now how about you tell me about this boyfriend of yours?"

Ann hesitated a minute, looking at the photographs in the album. Obviously Zoc's great-grandmother had been very well taken care of until she died. "What about her body-- what did you do with it?" Ann asked, still worried that Elnora may have contacted the lab after she died and may have been offered a handsome reward if she could help catch the others.

"You know that big rose bush in the garden out back?" Elnora asked. Ann nodded yes, and Elnora went on, "We planted it there to mark her grave. Ann, I know you're afraid of people finding out about the ants, especially if you're dating one of them, but I promised the queen I would get this to her colony if I ever had the chance." Elnora opened the chest on the dresser and pulled back a cloth. The dim light revealed the crystal the queen had taken from the lab.

"The missing crystal," Ann breathed as she stepped forward and carefully ran her fingertips over it, causing it to glow for a second.  
Elnora took a surprised step back and looked at Ann in shock, asking, "How did you do that? The queen said no human had ever been able to make it glow, and only a few ants had ever been able to."

"I really don't know why I can use the crystal, only that I can," Ann breathily explained. "Zoc's been teaching me how to control it-- that's why he used a piece of the crystal for the engagement ring, so I would be able to use it if I ever needed it."

"'Engagement ring?'" Elnora repeated. "You're marrying one of the ants?"

Instantaneously, Ann wanted to beat herself over the head with something large and heavy. She hesitated a moment, terrified of how Elnora would respond if she admitted the truth, but Ann doubted that she could convincingly lie. Looking at her feet like a scolded child, she confirmed quietly, "Yes."

There was a small pause that threatened to kill Ann where she stood; finally, Elnora laid a hand on Ann's shoulder, comforting, "Relax, dear-- I only knew the queen for a few days and I could tell she was mentally no different from us. The fact that you've fallen this deeply in love with one of them only means that you've been able to see past the outward appearance."

"R-really? You don't think I'm crazy falling in love with and marrying someone who's not human?" Ann asked, looking up.

"Not at all," Elnora dismissed. "Then again, I _am_ a crazy old lady-- I'm sure a lot of people would have a problem with it, but I don't think there's anything wrong with it. As long as you love each other, that's all that matters.

"Now, are you going to tell me about him?" she asked.

Ann spent the next hour telling Elnora about how she had met Zoc and everything that had happened since then. When she had finished, Elnora asked, "Do you think I could meet him?"

"I don't think that will be a problem-- I can ask him as soon as I get home," Ann mused. "He may already be there waiting for me, because we were supposed to be spending the evening together as soon as everyone else left."

Elnora gently caught Ann by the elbow and starting leading her downstairs. "Then let's get you home, dear," she announced, tucking the chest with the crystal under her arm.

A few minutes later, when they got back to the house, Elnora sat down in the living room while Ann headed to the basement to call Zoc. She had just opened the basement door when Zoc stepped out of the shadows of recess in the wall. "Where did you go?" he asked, stepping towards her with concern evident in his voice.

Ann ran over to him stopping him before he passed the doorway that led to the living room and pulled him back into the shadows. "You're not going to believe what happened-- Elnora recognized the crystal on my ring," Ann explained.

"How is that even possible?" Zoc asked, sounding even more concerned than before. "No one knew about that crystal but my colony and the humans who worked at the lab."

"_Qi tazhiohma, _Zoc-- she didn't have anything to do with the lab," Ann reassured him. "She's waiting in the living room to meet you-- I'll let her explain everything to you."

"She's here?" Zoc asked, looking like he was about to swallow his tongue.

"Consider yourself lucky it was just her," Ann gently instructed. "Now come meet her."

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Ann?" Zoc asked.

"Of course I am! I trust Elnora just as much as I trust you. I promise, everything will be okay, and it'll answer a lot of questions you thought would never be answered." So saying, Ann gently pulled Zoc into the living room.

Upon hearing them enter, Elnora stood and found herself face-to-face with the great-grandson of the queen she'd rescued several decades prior. Ann introduced them and Elnora told Zoc how she had known about the crystal and the ants. When she had finished her account, Elnora handed Zoc the chest with the crystal in it and said, "I promised your great-grandmother I would get this to your colony if I ever had the chance. I was beginning to think that would never happen."

Zoc ran his hand over the chest's lid in reverence. As he closed his eyes and held the chest tightly to his thorax, he said, "I don't know how I can ever thank you enough for all of this-- not just the crystal, but for telling me what happened to my great-grandmother. It's something I've wondered about since I was small, and even more so after we found out about the lab."

"I'm only keeping a promise I made years ago," Elnora replied simply as Zoc opened his eyes and looked at her with an expression that fell nothing short of relief and gratitude. "I should get going and let you two enjoy what's left of the evening."

Ann said her goodbyes, and Elnora gathered her things. As Ann was showing Elnora out, Zoc leaned in and whispered into he ear, "Why don't you go start the hot chocolate? I'd like a moment to thank her again."

Arching an eyebrow, Ann agreed and headed into the kitchen. A few minutes later, Zoc joined her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her back against him.

"I hope you're not too disappointed about losing a couple hours of our evening," Ann sighed, leaning her head back against his shoulder and resting her hands on his forearms.

"No-- I'm glad to finally know what happened to Great-grandmother," Zoc replied, gently nuzzling the crook of Ann's neck and shoulder. "At least now I know she didn't die alone and suffering somewhere. But, I would like to see where she's buried someday."

"I'm sure that can be arranged," Ann told him. "The garden behind the shop has a high fence around it to hide the view of the ally, so no one would be able to see you from there, and Elnora has enough trees and tall bushes along the fence to block the view from the other buildings."

"Good," Zoc sighed simply before becoming very, very serious. "Now there's something I've been wanting to discuss with you all day."  
"What?" Ann asked turning in his arms so she could see his face.

"Why didn't you ever tell me you wanted to live in the country?" Zoc asked.

"How do you know that?" Ann questioned.

"I overheard you and Elnora talking when she got here earlier," he explained simply. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"Because it doesn't matter," Ann dismissed.

"If it's something you want, it _does _matter," Zoc observed with gentle force.

"Zoc, it's like having sex and raising a family—it's one of those things that I know I'll have to give up to spend the rest of my life with you," Ann replied, "and I'm fine with that-- you're worth it to me. It doesn't matter where we live-- as long as I can be with you, _nothing else matters_," Ann told him, gently kissing his cheek.

Zoc knew that he would end up fighting a losing argument, and let the subject go. "_Tazhiohma_," he whispered into Ann's ear before softly kissing her. Before he went to kiss her again, he quietly told her, _"Qiri Kerisumashi_-- merry Christmas."

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	33. Chapter 33

By the first of the new year, Ann had told Hope, May and Lilly about her and Zoc being engaged; after that, word had quickly spread through the whole colony. Meanwhile, Zoc was working out the details to have the Head of Council perform the ceremony on Valentines' Day, just as Ann had mentioned to him once in passing. (The fact that Zoc was arranging the most important day of her life around something she'd never expected him to recall, or even pay attention to, meant a great deal to Ann, and was a daily reminder of why she loved Zoc so much.)

Another daily reminder came when she got home on Friday night, calling out as she entered the house, "Zoc, are you here?"

"Kitchen," Zoc called back to her.

Ann walked into the kitchen and smiled when she saw the chicken dinner sitting on the table, where he was just lighting two candles with his staff. "It looks absolutely wonderful," she said as she hugged and kissed him, doing a horrible job of trying to conceal her excitement.

"What are you so exited about?" Zoc asked, a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"We may get to go on a honeymoon after all," Ann announced eagerly. "Today my professor announced this contest for a few college seniors to go work at a dig site in Egypt. It'll mean putting in a lot of time to do the report that has to be entered, and it would mean being away for a month, but I want to try to win it."

"I'm sure you can win the trip," Zoc told her, squeezing her arm.

Ann smiled and said, "I hope you're right-- I'll be going up against students from colleges all over the country."

"You'll do wonderfully," Zoc told her, gently kissing the top of her head before pulling a chair out for her.

Over the next week, Elnora started letting Ann go home a couple hours early so she could work on her report for the entry, and Ann spent most of her spare time sitting on the couch in front of the fireplace with stacks of books about ancient Egypt stacked on both end tables and a couple of piles on the floor in front of the couch, with several laying open on the couch where she was working for good measure.

"Do you think you have enough books?" Zoc asked as he entered the room on Day Seven of Ann's report-writing binge..

"I hope so," Ann said, looking up from her book and smiling.

Zoc joined her and gently kissed her head, then started to massage her shoulders. "You're going to do fine," he told her with simple confidence.

"But it has to be better than _fine_-- it has to be _perfect_," Ann reminded him. "I've wanted to work in Egypt since I was little. Ancient Egypt is what first inspired me to become an archaeologist."

"How about we skip a fancy meal tonight?" Zoc suggested. "I'll try to make… brownies. At the very least, something you can eat while you work."

"You don't mind?" Ann asked. "I mean, it's Friday, I could take tonight off."

"You would only end up spending the night worrying about that report," Zoc reminded her. "I know how important this is to you, and I'll survive. I've been wanting to finish going through my great grandfather's potion recipes, anyway."

Ann tilted her head back, looking up at Zoc. "You are the most understanding, wonderful, man on Earth," she announced.

"I must be to have won the heart of such an intelligent, talented, beautiful woman," Zoc replied, leaning down to kiss Ann's forehead.

About a half an hour later, Zoc presented Ann with a paper plate of (lopsidedly cut-- kitchen knives were still something of a hurdle for him, which Ann privately found very cute) brownies, and Ann took a break long enough to eat a few.

After Ann had finished the brownies, Zoc leaned down and kissed Ann softly. "I'll see you tomorrow, my fiancée," he whispered as he pulled away.

Ann grinned at him. "Until tomorrow, my future husband," she replied with a combination of mock formality and love before they reluctantly let go of each other, and Zoc left Ann to work on her report.

-- 

Over the next three days, Ann spent all of her spare time working on her report. She was a little disappointed that she hadn't seen Zoc in all that time, but she assumed he was busy around the colony and staying away so she could concentrate on her report. She had finally decided as soon as she was done with the section of the report she was working on, that she was going to call him to make sure everything was alright.

She was just stacking her books out of the way when the basement door slowly opened. Ann looked up, and was more than a little shocked to see Hope step through the doorframe wonderingly, looking like the Ant version of Alice in Wonderland.

"What are you doing here?" Ann asked, feeling concern about Zoc punch her in the stomach.

"I haven't seen you in days, so I nipped a few of those size changing potions away from Zoc so I could come see you," Hope explained. "Do you have any idea what he's up to?"

"I have no idea," Ann admitted. "I haven't seen him in three days-- all I know is that he was going to spend Friday evening going through some of your great-grandfathers potion recipes."

"He must have found something he thought was important, then," Hope mused. "Every time I've seen him over the past few days, he's been working on some type of potion, but he refuses to tell me what it is. Do you think you could get him to tell you?"

"Probably," Ann replied.

"Great!" Hope announced, grabbing Ann by the wrist and pulling her toward the basement. "Let's go see what you can find out."

When they got to the basement, Ann carefully opened a small box and set it on the floor near the tunnel entrance. "What's that for?" Hope asked.

"It has a change of clothes in it for me," Ann explained, accepting a potion bottle from Hope, "for occasions like this when I have to use the potion to shrink instead of having Zoc shrink me _and_ my clothes." Within moments, Ann had shrunk and dressed herself, and was traveling through the tunnels with Hope.

Ten minutes later, as Ann and Hope came up the path outside of Zoc's home, they heard him bellow, "Craznocks!" and, judging from the color of the flying shards, a fire crystal suddenly shattered against the wall.

"Are you done throwing things or should I just wait out here?" Ann called from just outside the doorway.

Zoc appeared in the doorway a second later and pulled Ann into his arms, kissing her forehead before asking, "What are you doing here?"

"I haven't seen you in three days," Ann told him. "I was starting to worry; then when Hope told me you haven't come out of here in all that time, I thought I should come check on you."

"I've just been trying to get a difficult potion to work," Zoc explained. "I had assumed you would be busy with your report."

"What type of potion is it?" Ann asked, brow furrowing in curiosity.

"You'll find out if I ever get it to work," Zoc teased.

"Why can't you just tell me now?" Ann asked with a mock whine.

"Because I don't want to tell you about it until I _know _I can get it to work," Zoc replied patiently. "By the way, how are you doing with that report?"

Ann gave up on wheedling any information about Zoc's mysterious potion out of him as she answered, "I think I'll be able to have it done by next week-- I just have to proofread it a couple dozen times until I'm sure it's perfect."

"I'm sure it will be," Zoc told her. "I'll let you concentrate on that for now, and I'll see you in a couple of days."

"You sound almost like you're trying to get rid of me," Ann observed tartly.

"Never, Ann-- I just thought it would be better if I wasn't around to distract you," Zoc told her, running his hand through her dark hair.

"And you want to be able to concentrate on whatever this potion is without having me around trying to find out what it is," Ann teasingly added, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I understand-- I'll try to survive a few more days without you."

--

"So did you find out anything about the potion?" Hope asked as Ann came past the pillar she'd been hiding behind.

"I did-- that he's not telling anyone what it's for until he can get it to work," Ann told her.

"I guess we'll just have to wait then," Hope sighed. "Do you have time to come down to the nursery for a while? It's been almost two weeks since you were there, and everyone has been asking about you and how the wedding plans are going."

"I could use a few hours off from that report," Ann said with a grin as they headed for the nursery. 


	34. Chapter 34

By the beginning of February, Ann had finished and turned in her report, but was _really _starting to miss Zoc. He still came over and stayed with her on Friday evenings, but according to Hope, he never did anything but work on the potion that he still hadn't been able to make work.

On the third of the month, Ann was just getting off of work when Elnora asked, "Do you and Zoc have any plans for tonight?"

"No," Ann replied, trying not to sound disappointed.

"What's wrong?" Elnora asked, sensing Ann's tone.  
Sighing, Ann said, "I've just barely seen him these past few weeks-- he's working on some potion that he's having the hardest time getting to work. It seems to be really important to him, but he won't even tell me what it's for _until _he can get it to work. He still comes over every Friday and has dinner ready when I come home and we spend the evening together; it just seems like that's the only time I see him." A sudden scary though slapped Ann in the face as she asked Elnora, "You don't think he's getting cold feet, do you?"

"I'm sure that's not it," Elnora consoled. "Do you think that you can drag him away from those potions of his long enough for me to talk to him?"

"Maybe," Ann replied slowly. "What are you going to do?"

"I already needed to talk to him about something, anyway-- maybe I can find out what's going on with that potion," Elnora said, winking conspiratorially.

"Okay," Ann agreed with a grin as they headed out of the shop.

They got to Ann's house some time later, and while Elnora waited in the living room, Ann went down into the basement and called Zoc.  
When he arrived a few minutes later, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her (harder than usual, Ann half noted).

"Well, at least you seem to miss me as much as I've missed you," Ann laughed when Zoc pulled away for breath.

"I'm sorry about not being around much lately," he apologized, "but if I can get this potion to work, I think it'll be worth it."

"It's _that _important?" Ann asked, arching an eyebrow.

"I think you'll like," Zoc told her, "but if I can't get it to work before the wedding, I'll tell you what it is and let you decide how much more time I spend working on it."

"Okay," Ann agreed, kissing him once before adding, "Elnora is upstairs-- she said she needed to talk to you about something."

Zoc smiled warmly. "We shouldn't keep her waiting, then," he announced, taking her hand and practically dragging her up the stairs.

"What's going on? What are you two up to?" Ann asked.

"You'll see," Zoc told her with a mysterious smile.

"So you were able to work everything out?' Zoc asked Elnora in lieu of a greeting as he and Ann walked into the living room.

"Everything is ready," Elnora confirmed, smiling.

"Come on-- what are you two up to?" Ann asked again.

"How about we show you?" Elnora asked.

"Okay," Ann said slowly as Zoc disappeared upstairs for a moment and came back down with Ann's earrings, the ones she'd worn to Washington that he spent so much time in.

"You can follow me in your car-- you'll probably want to stay longer," Elnora told her.

"Oh-_kay_…" Ann repeated, still trying to figure out what was going on as she put on the ear rings; once they were securely in her ears, Zoc shrunk himself and she helped him into one.

"What's going on?" Ann asked once she got into her car.

"You'll see when we get there," Zoc told her as she turned her key in the ignition.

Fifteen minutes later, they pulled into a long wooded driveway; within moments, they pulled out in front of a large, Victorian-era house. The siding was gray and worn with age, but all the woodwork around the roofline was still intact. The house had a full wraparound porch and several towers and bay windows. As Ann looked at the fields and forests that surrounded it she realized it had to be the house Elnora had been telling her about on Christmas Day.

"What are we doing here?" Ann asked as she got out of her car and walked over to Elnora.

"Let me out of here and then we'll tell you," Zoc said.

"Are you sure that's safe?" Ann asked.

"You know you would look completely insane standing there talking to yourself if I didn't know Zoc was where you could hear him," Elnora gently pointed out. "If he's asking you to let him out, it's perfectly safe-- we're the only ones here and no one can see from the road."

"Fine," Ann agreed as she helped Zoc down and he made him self bigger. "So what are we doing here now?"

"Do you remember how those papers from the lab said the Cloudbreather would come back every ten years?" Zoc began.

"Yes," Ann confirmed.

"I spent most of Christmas discussing that with the queen and council, and they agreed with my proposal that the only way to keep the colony safe was to move the colony away from that area," Zoc explained, snaking his arm around her waist, "so if you like this house… I thought we could move out here."

Ann stared at him for a moment, too shocked to react as she let everything he had said sink in, then she threw her arms around him and kissed him. "I can't believe you did all this without telling me," she said.

"I was planning on telling you, but then when you showed up with Elnora I thought it would be more fun to surprise you once we had worked everything out," Zoc told her, smiling.

"All you have to do now is see if you like the house," Elnora told her, waving them toward the door. "If you do, we can get all the paperwork signed tomorrow."

Just as Elnora had promised, the house was huge-- five bedrooms upstairs, including a spacious master bedroom that was open to one of the towers and had a spiral stair case that lead up to the tower. The tower itself was lined with a window seat all the way around, it giving an amazing view of the fields and forests that surrounded the house. There was also a large attic that had a few boxes stacked around it that Elnora said had been there when her friend had moved into the house, and were probably of very little, if any, value. The downstairs had a large living room, kitchen, dinning room, sitting room and a massive library with built in shelves that went right up to the ceilings. The basement was divided up into several large rooms with a root cellar along one wall.

Elnora had been right about it needing some work-- most of the rooms needed paint or wallpaper; some of the floors needed the carpets replaced.

"I know it needs a lot of work," Elnora told Ann, "but aside from the walls and carpets, it's in wonderful condition and you would have enough privacy here that you and Zoc could be outside together without having to worry about people seeing you."

"Think you can handle helping me fix this place up?" Ann asked, turning to Zoc.

Zoc smiled at her and said, "Of course. Most of the repairs that need to be made look like they could easily be taken care of while giving you more magic lessons."

"Sounds wonderful," Ann said, kissing him quickly before turning back to Elnora with a wide grin. "We'll take it."

"I'll have the paperwork at the shop for you to sign tomorrow when you get to work," Elnora told her as she handed Ann the house key. "I'll see tomorrow."

Ann and Zoc stayed at the house for another hour, discussing what they would do with each room when they fixed them up, then finally headed home.

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Please leave a review


	35. Chapter 35

As always special thanks to supergeek17 for the ant language and all her help with this story, I don't think I could have finished it without her encouragement and help.

Also thank you to everyone who has reviewed or added this story to their favorites or alerts list it means a lot to me.

Well here it is, the last and hardest chapter to write, I swear I was blushing the whole time I wrote the end of it. I hope everyone enjoys it, if you've read this far please leave a review and let me know what you thought of the story.

* * *

It was the day before Valentines Day and Zoc was still spending all of his time working on the potion. Ann had just gotten home and decided she couldn't wait any longer to see him so she headed to the basement and used one of the extra shrinking potions that were kept hidden in the basement then headed into the nest.

As Ann got close to Zoc's home she could hear him muttering something that she was sure it was a good thing she couldn't understand, then she saw a potion bottle suddenly shatter against the wall. She hesitated a moment then peaked inside, any anger she had felt about not seeing him since Friday instantly disappeared when she saw him. He was sitting in a chair, with his elbows on the table, his face in his hands and his antennas drooping, making him look completely exhausted and depressed.

"Is this potion really worth getting this upset about?" Ann asked as she walked into the room and over to Zoc.

Zoc looked up at her, "I just wanted to have it done before tomorrow, sort of as a wedding present, what type of wizard am I if I can't figure out how to properly make two simple potions."

"Two?" Ann asked.

"Yes, one was more for you and the other was more for me." Zoc told her.

"And you haven't been able to get either one to work?" Ann asked.

"No," Zoc said picking a fire crystal up off of the table, "I got the one to work that's more for me within the first two weeks." He told her, his grip tightening on the crystal until it shattered.

"Zoc I don't care whether you get these potions to work, all that matters to me, is that by this time tomorrow we will be married." Ann told him, pulling him to his feet and wrapping her arms around his neck, "The only thing that might upset me is if you keep worrying about these potions all night and you're too tired to stay awake to get married tomorrow. So don't worry about the potions, I'm sure you'll get them to work eventually." She told him.

"I just feel guilty that I haven't been able to get the one to work for you." Zoc said.

"You've done the best you can, that's all that matters, as long as I can fall asleep and wake up in your arms everyday for the rest of my life that's enough for me." Ann told him then kissed him. After a moment she pulled back and said."Just try not to work on the potions too much longer."

Zoc sighed, "Alright, I'll try." He said kissing her one more time before letting her go.

"Good and you should probably be spending more time making sure you have a good supply of extra potions." Ann told him smiling.

"You won the trip?" Zoc asked.

"Yes, we are going to Egypt for a month in May." Ann told him excitedly hugging him.

"I knew you could do it." Zoc told her.

After saying good bye Ann headed back to her house, she was just coming up the basement stairs when someone knocked at her door.

"Mary, what are you doing here?" Ann asked when she got to the door and opened it.

"I'm here for the wedding; you didn't think I would miss my best friends wedding did you?" Mary asked.

"How did you get time off from school?" Ann asked.

"I just called in sick and told them I was sick with something horribly contagious and since I've never taken a sick day or even been late for a class they just assumed I was telling the truth." Mary told her.

"You're horrible, but I'm thrilled that you're here." Ann said.

"So where's your ant?" Mary asked.

"Working on some potion that he won't tell me what it's for." Ann told her.

"Well I'm sure if he's taking time away from you to work on it he thinks it's something you'll really like." Mary said.

"How do you know its something for me?" Ann asked.

Mary hesitated for a second then said, "I just assumed if he was putting that much time into it, it must be for you."

"What do you know about this that you're hiding?" Ann asked suspiciously.

"Okay, I called on Friday to let you know I was coming and Zoc answered the phone." Mary told her.

Ann stared at Mary shocked that she would lie to her, "That's kind of hard to believe considering Zoc would never answer my phone." Ann told her.

"Okay fine, he called me and needed some help with something." Mary admitted.

"Help with what?" Ann asked.

"Help with something I can't tell you about because he swore me to secrecy before he would tell me. All I can tell you is you'll probably like the potion he already has done and you'll like the other one once he get's it to work." Mary told her.

"He actually told you what the potions will do? He wouldn't even tell his sister that." Ann told her in disbelief.

"Well, like I said he needed my help with something, just please forget about it for tonight, you'll find out about it tomorrow as long as he doesn't decide not to use the one he already has until he get's the second one to work."

"Fine I won't bring it up again." Ann said reluctantly.

Ann and Mary spent the rest of the evening discussing the wedding as well as Mary's own wedding that she was still planning.

The next morning Ann woke up to Mary sitting on the side of her bed and bouncing up and down.

"What do you want?" Ann asked pulling the covers over her head.

"You're getting married today; don't you think you should get out of bed?" Mary asked.

"I'm not getting married until this afternoon and as late as we were up talking last night I think I deserve to sleep in." Ann told her.

"You have slept in, it's almost ten o'clock." Mary told her.

Ann shot up glancing at the clock, "It's that late and you hadn't gotten me up yet?" Ann asked.

"Like you said, we were up late last night and I thought it would be better to let you sleep in than to have you too tired to stay awake on your wedding night." Mary said with a mischievous grin.

"Good point, not that there's much that will happen." Ann said.

"It'll still take him half the night just to get you out of this thing." Mary said holding up a corset that had been sitting on a chair in the corner of Ann's room. "Anyways knowing that you can't have sex gives you one less thing to be nervous about, right?" Mary asked.

"I guess so; still it would be nice if we could." Ann said.

"Would you have still agreed to marry him this soon if you could?" Mary asked.

"Of course, what difference would it make?" Ann asked.

"I don't know, just like- well like if you were ready to let him see you naked and stuff, but not sure you were ready to actually have sex and since you knew you couldn't have sex anyways you agreed to go ahead and marry him. If you could have sex would you have wanted to wait longer to get married?" Mary asked.

"No, I'd be ready for it, if we could, not that it matters since we can't." Ann said.

"I was just curious. So let's get you ready for your wedding." Mary said.

A couple of hours later Hope and Elnora had shown up to help Ann get ready.

"Are you sure this won't hurt you?" Hope asked.

"I'll be fine; I'll let you know if it's too tight." Ann told her.

"Either that or she'll just pass out from not being able to breath." Mary said.

Hope looked uncertainly at Ann. "I'll be fine, human women use to were these all the time, anyways grandma's wedding dress was made to be worn with a corset, I don't want to take any chances of damaging it. Now just slowly pull the laces tight, I'll tell you when to stop." Ann told her.

Once Ann had the corset and petticoats on Mary did her hair then Ann walked over to a glass display case she had set up in her room and carefully took out her great, great, great grandmother's wedding dress. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, what if something happens to it?" Ann said as she looked at the dress.

"It'll be fine, it's been well cared for and the material is still in almost new condition. It's one of the best preserved pieces of clothing I've ever seen, as long as you're careful it should be fine and if anything does happen to it I know some people who are experts when it comes to cleaning and repairing antique clothing." Elnora told her.

"Alright." Ann said still a little nervous about wearing the dress.

As they help Ann get the dress on Mary said, "I was wrong."

"About what?" Ann asked.

"About it taking Zoc half the night to get you undressed, it's going to take him all night. I don't think I have ever seen so many buttons on one dress." Mary said.

"They didn't have zippers back when this dress was made." Ann pointed out.

"Well I'll bet who ever invented zippers came up with it on their wedding night when they ended up to tired to do anything else by the time they got through all the buttons." Mary said.

They had just finished getting Ann ready when someone knocked at the door and Mary ran to answer it, while Ann and Hope stepped into the sitting room just incase it was someone other than Lucas.

Ann was shocked when Mary led not only Lucas, but also a man into the sitting room. "Mary, who is this and what is he doing here?" Ann asked a little shocked that Mary had let him in and that the man didn't seem at all surprised to see Hope.

"I'm so sorry, I meant to tell you he was coming this is my fiancé John." Mary told her.

"And you told him about the ants?" Ann asked getting a little upset.

"Yes, but Zoc said it would be alright as long as I was sure he could be trusted, which I am." Mary told her, "Please don't be angry with me, you'll understand later, I promise."

Sighing Ann said, "Alright, I guess if Zoc thought it would be alright I can't get mad at you for it." Ann said.

"Good, now let's get going, I want to see the nest and I'm sure John and Elnora do too." Mary said picking up a full length cape for Ann to put on over the dress.

When they got to the basement Ann called Zoc and he came and shrunk them all and they headed into the nest. They were about half way through the tunnel that led to the nest when Ann noticed that Zoc and John had dropped behind the others and looked like they were whispering about something, what ever it was Zoc looked disappointed.

"What do you think they're up to?" Ann asked Mary as she started to slow down.

"I don't know, I'll go see." Mary said stepping away from Ann and heading back to Zoc and John.

Ann was just about to follow her when Lucas asked, "So how are your magic lessons going?"

"Fine." Ann replied watching over her shoulder as Mary walked up to Zoc and whispered something to him, a look of relief crossing his face.

Lucas suddenly grabbed Ann's hand as she started to try to get back to Zoc again. "Can you show me, can you make the ring glow or something?" he asked looking at her ring.

Ann made the crystal glow for a second then glanced back over her shoulder to see Mary walking quickly to catch up with her.

"So, what were they up to?" Ann asked.

"They're just talking that's all." Mary said.

"Yeah, talking about something you don't want me to know about." Ann replied.

"You'll find out soon enough." Mary told her.

Once they got into the nest Zoc left them and Hope and Ann gave the others a quick tour of the nest before they went to Hope's home where Mary made a few last minute adjustments to Ann's hair and helped her get the veil on just right.

"Are you ready for this?" Mary asked.

Ann grinned at her, "Absolutely." She replied.

"So what are ant weddings like?" Mary asked as they headed to the meeting chamber.

"From what Zoc has told me, it won't be much different from a human wedding; vows, now pronounce you husband and wife, kiss the bride and then a huge reception. The biggest difference will be a crystal that the groom carves with an image that will remind the couple of something special or important that's happened in their relationship. It sort of takes the place of rings which ants don't usually use, but since we already have my great grandparent's rings that we found in the safe we're going to use them." Ann told her.

"So what did he carve onto the crystal?" Mary asked.

"I don't know yet, the bride doesn't get to see the crystal until the wedding." Ann told her.

When they came up just outside of the meeting chamber, May and Lilly ran over to Ann. "Zoc said to give these to you--something about a human tradition?" May told her as she handed Ann a bouquet of pink roses, ones that matched those on her dress.

"They're perfect," Ann breathed as she looked at them.

"What are they for?" Lilly asked.

"Honestly… I don't know how the tradition was started, but human brides usually carry a bouquet when they walk down the aisle," Ann explained.

"Are you ready?" Hope asked.

"Yeah, just a little nervous," Ann replied, taking a deep breath. "How many people are in there?"

"Pretty much the whole colony--we tend to use a wedding as an excuse to take a day off," Lilly told her.

"Great," Ann said, only marginally sarcastic. "Okay I can deal with that… I hope. Lucas, you have the rings right?"

"Yeah, but are you sure I'm not too old to be a ring bearer? Don't they normally have _little _kids do that?" Lucas asked.

"Lucas, does it really matter? This isn't exactly a normal wedding," Ann pointed out.

Lucas considered Ann's argument. "Good point."

"Okay-- give us a minute to get to our seats and then you come in," Hope instructed before leaving.

"Okay," Ann whispered, then turned to Elnora and asked, "You've done so much for me already, Elnora, but if I may, I'd like to ask one more thing of you."

"And what is that, dear?" Elnora replied.

"Walk me down the aisle?" Ann requested.

"I would be honored to," Elnora told her, taking her arm and smiling proudly.

A minute later, they walked into the meeting chamber. Ann looked around at the huge crowed that had gathered and then looked straight ahead, trying her very hardest not to think about how many ants were there. She couldn't help but smile softly when she saw Zoc standing at the end of the aisle, on the old pocket watch. A pedestal stood next to him, about as high as Ann's waist, with a dark green crystal sitting on it; the head of council stood behind the pedestal. As she got closer, Ann realized the crystal had a carving of the Lincoln memorial carved on it, the place they had first admitted to loving each other, the place where it all began.

When they had joined Zoc at the front of the council chamber, Ann handed her bouquet to Elnora, who stepped off to the side. Zoc took her one hand as they both put their other hand on the crystal as they said their vows, all in fluent Ant, but a very human twist:

"_Qa jami, Zoc Veneficius, il ipsai'a kachim ilimsai'ah, zhemil xaiqilmeh, shegihl sahlmali'oh?_" _Do you, Zoc Veneficius, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?  
_  
"_Qaizhil_," Zoc breathed, not looking away from Ann's dark brown eyes. Her dark brown eyes, which were now growing very, very misty. "I do."

"_Qa jami, Ann Rochelle Harrison, il homai'il kachim ilimsai'ah, zhemil xaiqilmeh, shegihl sahlmali'oh?_" _Do you, Ann Rochelle Harrison, take this ant to be your lawfully wedded husband, in sickness and in health, 'till death do you part?  
_  
"_Qaizhil,_" Ann answered, feeling her heart speeding up. "I do."

At this point, the couple exchanged rings. Somehow, Ann managed to keep her hands from shaking as she slipped the antique gold band on the last finger on Zoc's hand; Zoc, conversely, had far less luck-- his hand shook terribly as he slipped the gold band on Ann's left ring finger, next to her engagement band. As he completed the task, he looked up at Ann with warm ice blue eyes and smiled; Ann smiled back, determined not to cry… at least right away.

"_Tyi mah ehdial shi riqamai Homai'il Iri'a_--" _And now in the name of the Ant Mother--  
_  
"_Mah ehdial shi riqamai Zhaisyira-Qam_…" Zoc softly corrected, so that only he and Ann knew-- _In the name of Great-Grandmother_…  
_  
"--Si giriah ipshira qolamay tyi ilimsai'ah. Jami yao gurio zailiramirishi."_ _I now pronounce you married. You may kiss the bride_.

Very gently, Zoc pulled Ann close him and drew her face to his. As he pressed his lips to hers, Ann could feel her heartbeat echoing in her ears like an ocean, and felt nothing but utter happiness.

The reception reminded Ann so much of the first snow celebration-- more food, music and dancing than she had ever deemed possible. "So how long will this last?" Ann asked her new husband-- how strange it was to be able to say _that_!-- after a couple of hours of dancing.

"Until the musicians are too tired to keep playing, just like the first snow celebration-- although the bride and groom can disappear _any_time they want to," Zoc said with a mischievous grin.

Ann felt her cheeks warm slightly as she smiled and said, "We should be getting Lucas home before his mother decides to call his friend's house and finds out he's not really there."

"Very true," Zoc agreed with a single nod. "We should gather all of our human guests though; I doubt we'll want to be interrupted later to make them bigger so they can go home."

"You're probably right-- I'm sure we'll be busy later," Ann replied, kissing him once, passionately, before they split up to look for Mary and the others.

"It's time to go," Ann said when she found Mary.

"Why? I'm having fun--this is _awesome_!" Mary announced eagerly, high from the exotic festivities and environment.

"Because if you don't leave _now_, you'll be spending the night the size of an ant--Zoc and I are going home," Ann told her.

"Ohh, _that's _why," Mary replied knowingly, with a dash of suggestiveness thrown in just to make her childhood friend squirm. "I guess we can leave, then, if you're _that _impatient to enjoy your first night as Mrs. Zoc Veneficius."

Ann turned a brilliant shade of pink. "More like more nervous than I've ever been in my life… and a little impatient," Ann admitted with a small smile.

"If you can't have sex with him, what is there to be nervous about?" Mary asked.

"The facts that no one has seen me naked since I was seven; that I've always been terribly modest; and that the guy I'm married to isn't even human, so I don't have the first _clue _how he'll react to seeing me naked," Ann explained, ticking the reasons off on her fingers.

"You'll be fine--you might have a lot of explaining to do, but you'll be fine," Mary reassured her. "I'll go find John and meet you by the main entrance."

A few minutes later, after they had all been rounded up, everyone headed back to Ann's house. "I'll call you tomorrow before I leave town," Mary told her.  
"Okay, I'll talk to you then," Ann said, hugging her friend goodbye and thanking her once more.

"I don't want to see you at work for the next week--even if you can't get out of school that long you still deserve to have as much extra time together as possible since you won't get a proper honeymoon until May," Elnora told her.

"Okay, I'll see you in a week then, and thank you," Ann replied gratefully.

Ann shut the front door after everyone left, then gasped as Zoc caught her around the waist and pulled her back against his frame and started kissing her neck. "You're in a bit of a hurry, aren't you?" Ann gently teased, smiling as she reached up to run a finger along his antenna. "Are you going to tell me what those potions are for now?"

"Not until I get you out of that dress," Zoc announced as he suddenly scooped her into his arms and carried her upstairs.

"What exactly is this potion that I have to be _undressed _to use it?" Ann asked, quirking an eyebrow as Zoc opened the door to the master bedroom.

"You'll see," he replied mysteriously as he set her down next to her bed and took her hand in his, using the crystal on her ring to light a few candles that were set up around the room.

"Either way, good luck getting me undressed-- you're gonna need it," Ann told him wryly.

"The longer it takes me, the more time I have to enjoy your shoulders," Zoc replied. Very gently, he kissed her and slowly worked his way down her neck to her shoulders. In one fluid motion, he was behind her, planting delicate kisses on her uppermost back and shoulder blades. Slowly, he started unbuttoning her dress while continuing to kiss her neck and shoulders, his antennas gently stroking her hair and cheeks.

"Wonderful," Ann breathed as she gently kissed the tips of his antennas.

Once he had slipped the dress off of her frame, he started in on her corset, kissing farther down her back as he unlaced it to expose more of her back, his antennas curling over her shoulders and stroking them, as well as the top of her chest and sending chills up and down Ann's exposed spine. Somewhere along the way, the antique silver pin that held Ann's hair in place clattered to the floor, and her dark hair fell around her shoulders and face.

Zoc finished with the corset and moved onto the petticoat, untying it and sliding his hands slowly down her hips, dropping the last of her clothes around her feet.

Very gently, he turned her to face him; Ann tried not to squirm under his fascinated blue eyes. Finally, he announced tenderly, "You are the strangest… and yet most beautiful woman I have ever seen." He gently pulled her into his arms and kissed her, his hands wondering gently over her bare skin.

After a few moments, she pulled away just enough to look up at his face. "Well, Zoc, you've gotten me out the dress," she teased. "Now will you tell me what those potions are? Why did you tell Mary about them, but no one else?"

"She wasn't the only one who knew what they were for," Zoc admitted. "Lucas and John knew too."

"Why? How did they know?" Ann asked.

"Lucas knew because I… used him to test the one I got to work on," Zoc admitted.

"You were using Lucas as a guinea pig?" Ann asked incredulously. "What exactly does the potion do?"

"Mary said you would be alright with it, but if you're not we don't have to use it yet," Zoc said in lieu of an answer to Ann's query.

"What are you talking about-- what does the potion _do_?" Ann asked almost impatiently.

"Do you remember the night when you were working on your report, and I said I was going to finish going through my great-grandfather's potions?" Zoc lead in.

"Of course," Ann replied.

"I found his formula for two potions: one to turn a human into an ant, and one to turn an ant into a human," Zoc told her, running his hands through her thick hair.  
"Unfortunately I haven't been able to get the one to turn me into a human to work."

Ann smiled widely and asked, "Y… you're telling me you can turn me into an ant?"

"Yes," he replied, smiling warmly.

"So we can… _properly _celebrate our wedding night?" she asked as she ran a finger over the patterning on Zoc's right arm. Zoc's single nod confirmed Ann's query, and her face lit up. "Well, where's the potion?"

Never looking away from Ann's face, Zoc reached behind him and picked a potion bottle up off of her dresser. "How did you get that in here without me noticing?" she asked, arching her eyebrow a bit.

"I brought it here, after I took you and the others into the nest," Zoc explained.

Ann carefully accepted the bottle from Zoc. She hesitated and asked, "Do you have something that will reverse this? I _really _don't think showing up to my classes as an ant would be a good idea."

"Don't worry," Zoc reassured. "It wears off after a few hours."

"I assume you have more than one bottle, then?" she announced, looking up from the pale green potion.

"Enough to last us tonight-- probably tomorrow," he theorized, "and I can make more while you're at school the next day." He told her.

"Good." Ann said as she uncorked the bottle and, taking a deep breath, drank the potion. She closed her eyes as dizziness washed over her; her whole body seemed to tingle, and she suddenly started to stumble backwards.

Zoc was at her side in an instant. "Plant your legs a little farther apart," Zoc said as he grabbed her shoulders to keep her from falling.

Ann opened her eyes, and realized the potion had worked. Gasping very softly, she spread out her four legs until she felt more balanced, and looked over her shoulder at Zoc. "How do you walk like this without falling on your butt all the time?" she asked.

"Once you get use to it, you shouldn't have a problem," Zoc told her, smiling warmly.

"I hope you're right," Ann said, then suddenly thought of something she couldn't help asking: "If I'm an ant now, does… does that mean we could have children?"

A sad look touched Zoc's face as he said, "No-- that's why Mary, John and Lucas knew about the potion before you. Mary came about a week ago and we used the potion on Lucas. She took a blood sample for John to check. As it turns out, the potion only changes your _appearance_;genetically, you're still completely human. Mary said it wouldn't have made any difference either way-- even if you _did _become pregnant, the pupa would have been killed as soon as the potion wore off."

"That's what John was telling you on the way into the nest, isn't it?" Ann asked sympathetically.

"Yes," Zoc confirmed, crestfallen.

"Well, what did Mary tell you then?" Ann questioned. "Whatever it was, it certainly seemed to cheer you up."

The mere memory of Mary's words was enough to raise Zoc's spirits significantly. "I had asked her to try to find out if it would have made any difference in your decision to go ahead and get married if we could have sex," he explained. "I didn't want to wait until tonight after we were married to tell you about the potion if you weren't ready for that; I didn't want you to feel we had t--"

Placing one of her three fingers on Zoc's lips, Ann smiled softly. "You're so sweet and considerate and absolutely wonderful-- you should have know that it wouldn't have made a difference to me," she told him. "I do have one question, though."

"What is that?" Zoc asked.

"How do ants make love?" Ann asked.

Zoc flashed Ann a debonair, mischievous smile. "I'll teach you," he murmured, pulling her into the first of the many passionate kisses exchanged that night.

* * *

Please leave a review and let me know if anyone would like to see a sequel to this. I have the first couple pages written, but it's going slowly, so it may not be posted right away, but if enough people are interested in it I'll try to put some more effort into it. Also any suggestions of things to happen in the sequel are welcome, I have a basic outline of what will happen with a few major events like the honeymoon in Egypt planned and a few other things, but need to flesh it out a bit more, so if anyone has any ideas I would love to hear them. If anyone wants to know when I post the sequel either send me your email address in a privet message and I'll let you know or add me to your author alerts, the sequel will be the only other story I will be posting under this account, everything else I have written is under the user name Christiana Anne and is mostly Transformers fics.

Thank you again to everyone who has reviewed.


	36. Chapter 36

The first chapter of the sequel is finally up, just go to my profile, click on the homepage link and that will take you to my other account, Dragon Star Empress, the sequel is posted there and titled Everything Is Possible.


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